A Pale Comparison
by Lisette
Summary: Complete - Vampires in New York?
1. A Pale Comparison

**"A Pale Comparison"**   
by Lisette- send all comments to: [Lisette_1@lycos.com][1]

All of the usual legalese... Gargoyles belongs to Disney and/or Buena Vista Television. In no way was I trying to do something that requires legal action to be filed against me. Me, like everyone else out there who reads on the archive, just love the show Gargoyles, and this is the way to keep it alive in our mind. Please don't sue me! I'm making no money what so ever off of this.

**WARNING:** this story can be pretty gory at times.. not for younger viewers.. er, I mean readers! :-)

Brief Description: Vampires in New York? They're just stories.. aren't they? This is what Elisa and Matt are wondering as they're handed their newest case. Action, adventure, romance, and a touch of the supernatural.. what more could you ask for?

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**"A Pale Comparison"**

Monday, October 13, 6:30pm

~Was life getting weird, or what?~ Elisa thought to herself as she left the police station for the day. On top of their already high stack of reports and cases, Elisa and Matt were handed a new case at work that night. Because of the gargoyles sightings, the clock tower bombing, and the new vigilante group, the Quarrymen, life was difficult as it is. For cops in particular. Everyone had been asked to work more and more shifts in order to ensure that enough cops were on the street to take care of the rising threat of violence. Once again, the cops of New York City were not protecting its citizens from terrorists or other outside threats, but from the citizens themselves. People were frightened and wanted explanations, explanations that the mayor or the police didn't have. Due to the lack of information, the frightened people were turning to crime: robberies, murders, rapes, muggings, riots... all the statistics had risen. These were the kind of cases that Matt and Elisa had been handed of late. Tonight was a different story.

When Captain Chavez said that they were being pulled from their present cases, Elisa and Matt were suspicious. Even more so when she said that it was of a high priority that required two of her best detectives.. something up their alley. Now, they were definitely suspicious. All of their questions were answered when they read the file. Apparently, a string of murders had been uncovered. The tell tale mark of the killer was that allof the blood in the body was gone. Strange indeed. To make it even worse, there were two puncture wounds on the neck.

"Oh, give me a break, Captain!" Elisa said as she scanned the report. "Vampires in New York City?"

"Maza, I don't create the reports.. I just hand them out," Captain Chavez retorted.

"Yeah, well why did we get this assignment?" Matt asked, reading over Elisa's shoulder.

"Because you seem like the people for the job.. you're definitely the most qualified."

"What do you mean by that?" Elisa asked, a suspicious note in her voice. "Whenever something weird happens in this city, you two are always the first on the scene and are always placed there.. I think you're a weird magnet or something. Whatever the case, this has become your new priority. Get to work on it!" Maria Chavez said, indicating their dismissal.

Without another word, Elisa and Matt took the hint and headed back totheir own office space. Laying the folder on her messy desk, Elisa plopped into her chair and looked at Matt. "Well, it seems as though we have a new investigation to begin, partner."

"Yeah, well where to first?" Matt asked as he slid into his chair opposite of her.

"Well, sun's going to rise in a couple of hours... let's see how far we can get till then."

Nodding in agreement, Matt grabbed his trench coat and the two were out the door.

Settling behind the driver's seat, Elisa said, "And the first stop is..."

"Why don't we start with the crime scene of the first murder. The address is 2202 North Fourth Avenue."

"Got it," Elisa said as she screeched away from the curb. "So, what's the deal?"

Falling into their customary rolls with a new case, Elisa drove as Matt read the report aloud. "Okay, so far there's been five murders. Four of the victims were female, one male, no apparent race, and they were spread out through the city. The first murder occurred on Saturday, October 4th. The victims were a sixteen year old girl and a seventeen year old boy, both high school students. Her name was Elizabeth Brezinski. According to the file, she was at a party two weeks ago at a friend's house and the last person to see her alive was her best friend. Friend's name is Kerry Johnson. Kerry said that Liz was feeling tired and decided to walk home, a classmate, Matthew Strommer said he'd walk her home- she never saw them again."

"What time was that?"

"Uh, says here that Kerry estimates the time at about 11:04pm. When the kids didn't return home at their curfews, which were both at one am, the parents called around and then called the police. We filed missing person reports on them that day. The next afternoon, some school children found the bodies in an alley three blocks from the party, two blocks from Liz's home, on their way home from school. Liz's body itself had no markings except for the puncture marks on the throat. The body was completely drained of all blood."

"Hmm, no bruises or anything?"

"Nope, nothing."

"What about the boy, Matt?"

"The boy was... uh.. he was dismembered."

"What?"

"The report says that he was dismembered.. all of his major appendages had been removed. The arms, legs, and head were torn from the body."

"Torn?"

"Yeah, no weapon was used.. just the hands it seems. That's what the lab people say, that the bruising coincides with that theory."

"Wow, we're looking for a very strong individual. Okay, next one," Elisa instructed.

"The next victim was Jackie Wagner, a twenty four year old college student. This one took place ten miles from the other incident. Last people to see her alive was her classmates. Apparently, she had a night class that night, and was walking to her dorm afterwards. The grounds people found her body the next day, stashed in between some bushes. Like Elizabeth, she had no distinguishing marks besides the puncture wounds and the complete loss of blood."

"How long after the first murder did this happen?" Elisa questioned.

"Let's see... ah, the second murder occurred Tuesday, October 7th.. and the time of death was placed at 10:05pm."

"Hmm... what time did the class get over?"

"The class was over at 8:45pm."

"Wait a minute.. how long should it take to get to her dorm room?"

"I'm not sure.. what are you getting at?"

"Well, that's more than an hour difference. If we can figure out what time she should have arrived at her dorm room, then we know how much time is missing between the actual murder and her arrival.. how long she probably spent with the killer. When was Elizabeth's time of death?"

"Let me check," Matt said as he rustled through the papers sitting precariously in his lap. "Uh, her time of death was 12:05 am... I see what you mean, once again there's about an hour difference between the time they left and the time of their murder."

"Give me a quick review of the rest of them," Elisa instructed.

"Okay, the third victim was Sherry Russ. Hmm, she was a twenty six year old female who just got off work at the restaurant she worked at. She was reported missing by her boyfriend when she didn't turn up that night, which was Thursday, October 9th. Her car was found in the parking lot the next day. Um, she left work at about 4:30 am, and her time of death was placed at 5:20 am. Same as the rest with the way she was found, which was inan alley two blocks from the restaurant. The final victim was Maria Cheyene, a 32 year old manager at a department store. Husband called her in missing when she didn't return home. She left work at about 1:30 am and the time of death was 2:45 am. She was found three blocks from the store, and her car was still in the lot. This last one happened this last Saturday, October 11th, and she was found yesterday."

"Hmm... the murderer seems to be going after females."

"What about the one boy, Matthew?"

"Look at the way all of the girls were killed, slowly and by a loss of blood. With the boy, though, he was torn apart, literally. I think that he just got in the way."

"I agree."

"Well, here we are..." Elisa said as she climbed from the car. Matt joined her and they quickly began their investigation.

........Which led up to now. After they had poked through the crime scene, Elisa and Matt had called it a night. After all, by that time it was close to seven in the morning. After getting some sleep, they were at it again. The pair had spent the last four hours interviewing the witnesses, like Kerry Johnson, Sherry's boss- Karl Lund, her boyfriend- Joey Zeffer, one of Jackie's classmates- John Calvin, and the person who closed the department store with Maria- Jeffrey Collins. Afterwards, Elisa had quickly dropped Matt off at the police station. When he asked her where she was off to, Elisa merely said that she wanted to get some help from some friends. Nodding in understanding, Matt headed into the building, leaving Elisa with her thoughts.

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Monday, October 13th, 7:05pm

Wearily, Elisa climbed the stairs to the top tower. Thank goodness she had time to spare, otherwise she would have been late for the event. As she cleared the final step and entered into the cool night air, she watched the stone statue before her. On cue, the statue started to form hair line cracks all over it, till a person would think it would fall to pieces. Then, the stone flakes flew outward as a living creature stretched and yawned from within, the yawn sounding more like a tremendous roar. The tired grimace was instantly wiped off Elisa's face as she watched Goliath get down from his daily perch.

"Elisa!" Goliath called out, a happy note to his voice. "What brings you to the castle this evening?"

"What? Can't I come and visit some favorite gargoyles of mine?" Elisa asked, putting a hurt note in her voice, even though she was just joking around.

"Of course you can," Goliath said, knowing that she was only kidding with him, "but you usually have a reason."

"All right, you have me there. Matt and I got a new case last night, and it looks like it's going to be a difficult one."

"A new case?"

Elisa turned around quickly at the new voice. Apparently, while she had been talking with Goliath, the rest of the clan had glided up to see what the news was. "Yes Broadway," Elisa said, laughing at his enthusiasm. "But before I tell you guys about it, do you want to go inside? It's getting a bit chilly up here," Elisa explained.

"Sorry Elisa," Goliath broke in, concern touching his face. "I had forgotten about how cold affected you more so then us. Let's move inside." Without giving her a chance to protest, Goliath scooped her up into his arms and glided to the courtyard below, the clan following his lead. Setting her down gently, they walked as one into the castle.

When the group was comfortably sitting around the television room, Elisa began her tale. "Okay guys, here's the scoop. It seems that New York has a new serial killer."

"What?" was the assembled response.

"But there has been nothing o' th' sort on the telly, lass.. are ye sure 'bout this?" Hudson asked.

"Yeah, we've been lucky enough to keep this away from the press, although I'm not sure how long that will last."

"How many have been killed?" Angela asked.

"So far there have been five killed. Four were woman between the ages of sixteen and thirty-two, and one sixteen year old male. It seems that the target is woman of this age group and that the boy was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"How did they perish?" Goliath rumbled.

"The male was torn apart.... it seems that the individual we're seeking is of extraordinary strength cause the lab guys swear that it was done by hand. As for the female victims, there were no marks on the bodies besides two puncture wounds in the neck... all the blood was drained from their body. The official cause of death was severe blood loss," Elisa said grimly.

"A vampire!!" Lex said excitedly.

"Yeah, that's seems to be the impression the killer wants to give off," Elisa admitted.

"You don't believe that it was an actual vampire?" Broadway asked.

"Of course not. Vampires are just fiction... there's no such thing," Elisa said firmly.

"I'm sure that's just what you would have said about gargoyles two years ago, or about Loch Ness monsters, fairies, aliens, secret societies, banshees, and King Arthur a year ago," Goliath pointed out.

"That may be true, but come on guys," Elisa said, placing her hands on her hips, a look of disbelief on her face. "Do you honestly believe that our killer could be a vampire?"

"You tell us, you're the detective," Goliath answered back.

"Ye know lass, Goliath may have 'imself a point there. There be more to this world than what meets th' eye," Hudson pointed out.

"What can we do to help?" Brooklyn asked, getting back to the matter at hand.

"I just want you to keep your eye open when you're on your patrols. All of the murders have happened within the last week."

"That we will do then," Goliath agreed. "It's time to start patrols anyway. Brooklyn, I want you to take Broadway and Angela on patrol with you.. cover the East half of the city. Lexington, you'll patrol with me on the west end. I want everyone to keep their eyes open to anything of a suspicious nature," Goliath instructed to his clan. "Hudson, I want you and Bronx to stay here and guard the castle."

"Aye lad, Bronx and I will stay at our post till ye get back," Hudson said. He was getting older in age, which meant that spending the evening out on patrol didn't sound as appealing as it did years ago. Instead, he'd prefer to stay right there in front of the telly. If he was called upon to do something, he would in an instant.. but his old age was earning him some privileges from Goliath.

"Well, I suppose I better be off to work.. we've got to find this creep before another murder takes place... and before the media learn of it," Elisa said as she walked towards the elevator.

"And we should begin our patrols. Remember your instructions," Goliath commanded as he headed for the parapets, Lexington on his heels. Quickly the gargoyles jumped into the night sky and broke into their respective groups, heading in their own directions. Yet another patrol had begun.

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Tuesday, October 14th, 2:34 am

The girl walked quickly down the empty street. Every ten paces or so stood a tall streetlight, illuminating the sidewalk and a bit of the street to the side. In this area of the city, there were fancy stores lining both sides of the street, all closed at this hour. Here and there was an occasional dark alley, the garbage spilling out onto the street. ~Man, Mom and Dad are going to kill me!~ she thought to herself. She was supposed to be spending the night at her friend, Emily's house. Instead, her and Emily got in a fight and now Jamie was walking home all alone. The fight was stupid really. Emily was once again preaching on and on to her about how Jamie's new boyfriend, Nate, was really a bad guy to be dating. "She's just jealous!" Jamie muttered to herself. "She's upset cause Joe's not moping about their break up any more and he's concentrating on me."

Suddenly she broke out her reverie as she passed an all night diner. This would probably be the only place open around here for blocks. Right now, she was two blocks from Emily's house, and six blocks from her own. ~Should I call home and have someone come get me?~ she asked herself quietly, pausing outside of the door. If she did that, Mom and Dad would be really mad at her. Then again, if she was lucky, her older sister, Jen, might answer the phone. Sure, she'd probably grumble a little, but Jen would come and get her. But what if Jen told Mom and Dad? Deciding that it was probably safer to be walking the streets of New York City alone at 2:30 in the morning than to risk her parents wrath, Jamie kept going. She only made it to the alley next to the diner though, when a soft voice stopped her in her tracks.

"Help me..." the soft voice pleaded.

Turning, Jamie squinted into the dark alley, trying to glimpse who was within. She couldn't see a thing in the inky darkness. Still, whoever the person was, it was definitely male.

"Please help me..." the voice said again.

~Oh God, what should I do?~ Jamie asked herself quickly. Intellectually, she knew that she should keep walking, for even though this was a relatively good neighborhood, a fifteen year old girl all alone wasn't the safest thing to be. Then again, her emotions were telling her to go and help the poor soul. Whoever it was, he sounded like he was harmless.. and really in need of assistance. The battle waged in her mind till she gave in to her emotions. Walking slowly, Jamie entered the dark alley. Her eyes began to slowly adjust to the darkness. Still, she could only make out a dark figure before her. "Hello?" she called out hesitantly.

"Maybe you're the one for me..." the voice whispered.

Before Jamie could back away, the dark silhouette launched itself at her. With a hand over her mouth, the man quickly silenced her terrified gasp. She could do nothing as he drew her nearer. Suddenly, she felt two stabs of pain at the sudden pricks in her neck. ~Mom!!~ she screamed in her mind.

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Tuesday, October 14th, 3:15 am

"Hey Matt, you hungry?" Elisa asked, taking her eyes briefly from the road to look at her partner.

At her voice, Matt reluctantly tore his eyes from the pages in his hand. For the last hour, they had been investigating some possible leads on their case. Once again, it was a false trail. Now, as they headed back to the station, Matt was once again reading the files on the murders. At the mention of food, Matt also realized that the last time he had eaten was a good eight hours earlier in the evening. "Sounds good... anything in mind?"

"Um.. how about here?" Elisa said. Turning on her blinker, she pulled her car smoothly in front of an all night diner.

"Ah, I hate these kind of places!" Matt grumbled. "Isn't there any McDonald's or Burger Kings around here?"

"Nope.. my turn to pick, and your turn to pay!" Elisa said, grinning from ear to ear.

Realizing that Elisa was right, Matt put the paper aside and hopped out of the car, slamming the door behind him. Together, the detectives walked towards the cafe door. Suddenly, Elisa stopped in her tracks and said, "Oh shoot, I might as well grab the case reports. We'll probably have time to look them over while we wait for our food."

"Fine then, I'll get us a booth. You can go and get the reports," Matt said, grinning he left his partner outside and walked into the warm interior.

"Jerk," Elisa muttered as she walked over to her car. Quickly, Elisa stopped dead in her tracks as she heard a muffled moan from the alley beside the little cafe. Listening, she tried to determine if it was the real thing or just her overactive imagination playing tricks on her. Wait, there it was again. Unholstering her gun, Elisa began to slowly advance on the alley opening... just her luck, it was pitch black. Knowing better than to enter like that, Elisa waited patiently till her eyes adjusted to the gloom. Slowly, she began to make out shapes. Keeping her gun aimed into the opening, she looked around carefully for the source of the moaning. It looked as though the alley stretched back for quite a distance before ending in a brick wall. Along both sides were garbage cans, the contents overflowing onto the surrounding ground. Entering slowly, Elisa swung her gun back on forth, walking quietly. When she was about two thirds of the way into the alley, she heard the moan again, this time right beside her. Looking to her right, she saw that the alley drew into the building here in a little enclosure, closed in on three sides with the fourth open to the alley. If it wasn't for the quiet moan, Elisa would have missed the little enclosure completely. There lying on the cold cement was a still person. Holstering her gun, Elisa quickly dropped to her knees beside the person. Now that she was closer, she could make out details. Before her lay a young girl, a teenager by the looks of it, with short blond hair that was fanned out under her head. Checking for a pulse, she was relieved when she found one, albeit extremely faint. Moaning again, the girl turned her head to the side, revealing a two dots of blood on the girl's neck.

"What the hell?" Elisa muttered quietly. Reaching down, she found the source of the blood... two puncture marks on the side of her neck. Gasping quietly, Elisa quickly unholstered her gun and stood up slowly, pivoting around, covering all angles.

"Elisa?"

"Matt!" Elisa yelled, not leaving the girl's side. Man was she relieved to hear his voice.

Stumbling and cursing, Matt finally found his way to Elisa's side. "What are you doing? I was getting worried.."

"Matt," Elisa said, cutting him off. "Go call an ambulance!"

"Why? Are yo..."

"Look," Elisa said, indicating the prone figure behind her.

"Oh my God, is she.."

"Not yet.. it seems as though our serial killer has struck again, only I must have scared him off before he finished the job."

Nodding his head, Matt quickly dashed back to the car.

Kneeling back down next to the girl, Elisa brushed her blond hair away from her face and said, "Don't worry, we're getting you help." If the girl heard her, she gave no reaction. "Just hang in there..."

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No! Everything had been going to plan. When he saw the girl walking all alone, he had thought that maybe this was the one that would ease his suffering.. maybe she had been the one he had been waiting for. Right away, he had drained some blood to pacify her.

Suddenly, a car door slamming stopped his feeding. Jerking his head up, he listened quietly, the blood dripping from his mouth. Good, they were entering... no, only one was entering. The other was heading back to the car for something. Then, to his horror, the girl before him moaned loudly. Oh no.. did the woman hear? He listened closer.. but the woman must have been listening as well. Suddenly, the damn girl moaned again. The woman on the street then began to come towards the alley, her footsteps echoing louder and louder on his sensitive hearing. Without a sound, he quickly ascended the building till he watched the scene below from a fire escape two stories up. Luckily, this night was one without the moon shining brightly from above.

His eyesight was enhanced as well as his hearing. Watching the opening to the alley, he waited for the woman to come closer. He couldn't take this one out, because her friend was bound to come looking for her. Then, the girl moaned again. ~Stupid little wench!~ he thought to himself. Then, to his amazement, the most beautiful woman he had ever seen entered his little cranny. She looked to be in her mid-twenties, tall, with raven black hair, as black as the night, large brown eyes, full red lips, a slender form clad in tight fitting jeans, and a red jacket... with a revolver in her hand? A cop? He watched as the cop checked his little treasure over. When she found his bite marks, she quickly unholstered her gun once more. Suddenly, her companion's voice broke the eerie silence. "Elisa!" he called.

Elisa.. what a beautiful name.. one truly fitting for beauty such as hers. Then her melodic voice answered back. ~Now this one could be the one.. she had all the qualities he desired~ Krishna thought, the girl completely forgotten. If only Elisa could pass the test. The test must be administered. He had to get her alone... but not now. For now, he would settle on following her... then, she could take the test.

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Tuesday, October 14th, 6:34 am

Once again Elisa found herself rushing through the Aerie Building. When she ran breathless into the Great Hall of Castle Wyvern, Owen merely said that the clan was on the tallest tower, Goliath's tower so to speak. Nodding her head in thanks, Elisa ran out the door and into the courtyard. Running at full speed, she finally reached the base of the tower. Looking up, she saw stairs, stairs, and more stairs. Sighing, Elisa began to run up the stairs as fast as she dared. As she neared the top she slowed her walk to a run.. I mean, how would it look if she burst from the tower at breakneck speed, panting in order to catch her breath. When her breathing was slow enough for her tastes, she left the cover of the stairs and stepped into the night.

The clan was as Owen had mentioned, gathered in a cluster on the ramparts. "Hey guys, what's up?" Elisa asked, letting them know that she was there.

"Elisa!" Angela said, running up to her friend's side. "What are you doing here?"

"I thought I'd give you guys an update before sunrise."

"Was there a break in the case?" Broadway asked quickly, a smile lighting up his face. He loved detective work. Sometimes it could be just like in the movies. He'd never forget the Silver Falcon incident, the only time in which Elisa truly let him be her partner. It was because of him that the case was cracked.. and that Elisa wasn't splattered on the pavement. Well, okay, Elisa was the one to figure out the clue, but he did help out. In Broadway's eyes, Elisa was a goddess.. the goddess of detectives. She was his role model when it came to that. And he actually got to help her!! Well, once again he shouldn't be too proud of himself, cause it was also because of him that Elisa was shot and had to spend some time in the hospital.

"Yeah, Broadway.. but first, did you guys see anything?" Elisa asked.

"No, that's what we were just discussing... it was a normal night," Brooklyn said. "Broadway, Angela, and I broke up three muggings, two robberies, and scared off two soon to be criminals."

"Yeah, and Goliath and I didn't see anything either," Lex added.

"What was the break through?" Goliath asked. He hated when she did this.. she had something big to tell them, and she let them know it. Yet instead of just telling them, she had to hint at it until their curiosity forced them to ask about it.

"Unfortunately, it's not a very good break through, and I wish we could have had it under other circumstances. About two hours ago, Matt and I decided to get something to eat. Matt went inside, but I forgot something and went back to the car. I heard someone moaning in a nearby alley, so I went to check it out. Apparently, I interrupted our serial killer. The girl is only fifteen years old!! We got an ambulance right away, and it looks like she's going to make it. She needed a tremendous blood transfusion though."

"What happened, did she tell you anything?" Lex asked quickly.

"No... the girl hasn't regained consciousness yet, so Matt and I are going to try and see her tonight after we get some sleep. Although, while she was unconscious she was mumbling something about a guy."

"Could she give you any more information about the person?" Goliath asked.

"No, like I said, she hasn't really regained consciousness yet. But if you put any stock in her ramblings, then our suspect is male."

"Gee, that really narrows it down," Brooklyn said sarcastically, "No offense or anything Elisa, but you guys really have your work cut out for you this time."

"I know.. but hey, that's what police work is all about."

"I hate to talk and leave ye like this, lass," Hudson broke in quietly, "but th' sun will be risin' and we need to be finding our perches..."

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize that I had cut my visit so close to sunrise," Elisa apologized, noticing the rising sun for the first time.

"Ach, think nothin' of it lass. Now come on, young ones.. we need to be getting to our perches."

As Hudson glided down to the lower battlements, the trio plus Angela followed suit, carrying Bronx in between them. Turning, Elisa faced Goliath, surprised to see a frown upon his face. Sure, he doesn't usually have a smile on his face.. but a frown is a sure sign of something the matter.

"What's wrong, Goliath?" Elisa asked, placing her small hand on his arm.

"Elisa, I want you to be careful," Goliath said seriously.

"What are you talking about?" Elisa asked. Where was all of this concern coming from?

"This killer is getting closer.. and if you haven't noticed, you fall into the pattern he's setting for his victims."

"What pattern?" Elisa asked, raising an eyebrow in disbelief.

"You're female and between the ages of fifteen and thirty-two..."

"Along with thousands of others in this city," Elisa finished. "Look Goliath, you have no reason to be worrying like this," Elisa said firmly. "I'll be fine."

"Just be careful," Goliath asked. "Promise me you will."

Sighing, Elisa gave in.. what could a promise hurt? "I promise I'll be careful," Elisa said in a monotone, showing her distaste for such measures.

Smiling, Goliath turned and hopped onto his perch for the day, just in time to catch the first rays of sunlight as the sun rose above the horizon. As usual, his mighty form completed the daily cycle by turning from flesh and blood to stone. Laying her hand upon the stone shoulder, Elisa sighed again and said, "I promise to be careful... but that's not going to prevent me from doing my job."

Turning on her heel, Elisa headed back towards her car. It was time for some well needed sleep.

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As the dark being felt sleep begin to overtake him, he thought of the mysterious woman. "Elisa Maza.... soon we will be together, and then the test will be administered. Tonight I'll begin my search for you at your precinct.. the twenty-third precinct.. NYPD. Soon, we will be together..."

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Tuesday, October 7th, 4:00pm

Groaning, Elisa was awakened from her peaceful slumber by the jarring of her alarm clock. ~Oh, it can't be time to get up already~ Elisa thought to herself. Sighing, she reached her hand over and fumbled for the snooze button. As her hand slapped over and over again at the stupid thing, she sighed a sigh of relief by the sudden quiet that followed. Rolling onto her back, she stared up at the ceiling of her bedroom. Even though it was still light out, the room was dark due to the heavy shades.

"Time to get up," she mumbled to herself. Reaching down, she threw the covers away from her body and stumbled to her feet. Stripping down, she hopped into the shower and made her plans for the day.

"Okay, gotta get dressed, do the breakfast thing, and head down to the precinct by 6:30pm... can't be late again or else the Cap will have my hide," Elisa said to herself as she rinsed the shampoo from her hair. Stepping into the steamy bathroom, she quickly slipped on her customary jeans and tee shirt. Heading into the kitchen, Elisa rummaged through the cupboards, searching for an edible breakfast. "Hmm, Cinnamon Life, the breakfast of champions," she said wryly. Pouring the cereal and milk into an awaiting bowl, Elisa started to chow.

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23rd Precinct, NYPD- 6:20pm

Hopping out of her red fairlane, Elisa locked the doors and headed up the steps to the old building. Luckily, renovations were almost complete on the destroyed clock tower, so Elisa was back at her original precinct. Looking over her shoulder, she watched as the sun began to set in the blue sky, turning it to the beautiful shades of red and orange. "Sorry Goliath, but I won't be able to greet you when you awake this evening," Elisa muttered under her breath as she opened the door and stepped into the bustling   
precinct.

Navigating expertly, Elisa darted around the various cops and criminals in handcuffs, heading in the general direction of her desk. Finally reaching her own little safe haven, Elisa plopped down into her chair and flipped on the computer. Glancing across her desk, Elisa looked at Matt's vacant seat. "Wow, I actually beat Matt in for once." Looking back at her computer screen, she saw that it was booted up and ready to go. So, with no more procrastination, Elisa sent to work on her new case.

About a half hour later, a thump in front of her broke her concentration. Looking up, she saw Matt slouching in his chair. Casually glancing at the clock behind him, she saw that it was around 6:55pm. "A little late, Matt?" she asked sweetly, eyeing his rough appearance and scowl.

"How did you manage to beat me here?" he asked as he leaned back in his chair, a look of exhaustion and frustration showing on his face.

"I drove.. how about yourself?"

"I would have been here on time if it wasn't for a stupid traffic jam by my apartment," Matt whined.

"Uh huh, looks like you get to explain to Captain later about why you were late. We'll just have to see if she takes your excuses better than mine!"

"But.."

"Never mind, Matt, right now we should hit the road. I want to go and check out how Jamie is doing," Elisa said as she stood up from her seat, switching her computer off at the same time. Turning, she quickly picked up her jacket from where she had slung it over her chair and slipped it on, effectively concealing her holster and gun.

Sighing, Matt picked himself out of his chair and followed his partner out of the building. Breathing in the cool night air, Matt thought, ~Oh well, at least this will spare me from the Captain's wrath for at least a little while~ As he pulled the door shut behind him, the darkness of the night stared back at him. A little unnerved, Matt had the weirdest feeling that something was watching them. "You know Elisa, tonight feels weird," Matt said as he rubbed his arms unconsciously, trying to rub away the prickly feeling he was getting.

"What do you mean?" Elisa asked as she pulled on her seat belt and then pulled into the flow of traffic.

"I don't know," Matt said, glad in some weird way to be leaving the station behind. "I kind of felt like we were being watched."

"Hmm, must be that overactive imagination of yours," Elisa said, not really paying attention.

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Unknown to the two detectives, there was something out in the night watching them. The only thing was, it didn't stay behind at the station house, but instead launched itself into the dark night, blending in perfectly with the darkness. As the red car moved back and forth in the busy night traffic, the unknown tail trailed closely behind.

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"Hey Matt, before we stop at the hospital, do you mind if we stop at my place first?" Elisa asked, risking a quick glance at her partner.

"Sure, but why?" Matt asked as he flipped through the pile of papers sitting in his lap once more. He was looking through the case files again.

"I have a phone call to make, and we're right by my apartment anyway."

"Fine by me."

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Elisa's apartment- 10 minutes later

Walking into her apartment, Elisa headed straight for the phone, Matt following her into the apartment. Bending over, he picked up the meowing cat at his feet. "Hey Cagney, how are you doing tonight? Gee, Elisa, don't you ever feed this cat?" he asked as he stepped into the kitchen and found the empty cat food dish. Digging around in her cupboards, he finally located the cat food and filled the cat's bowl.

"I just fed her before I left!" Elisa yelled from the living room. Reaching the phone, Elisa quickly dialed the phone number that she had memorized. After two rings, someone picked up on the other end.

"Hello?"

"Hi Lexington, this is Elisa..."

"Hi Elisa!" Lexington said over the phone, "How are you doing tonight? Goliath was kind of worried when you weren't here when we woke up... are you alright?"

"I'm fine Lex, I just had to be at work right away tonight, with the case and all. Speaking of Goliath though, is he there?"

"Goliath? Yeah, hold on a second," Lexington answered.

Smiling, Elisa listened as she heard Lexington yelling for Goliath in the background. Out of the whole gang, Lex was the person that had adapted to the new machines and technology in her world the best. Suddenly, she heard footsteps from behind her, turning quickly, she found Matt staring at her quizzically. "Who are you talking to?" he whispered, not wanting to interrupt. Just as she was about to answer, someone picked up on the other end.

"Elisa, is that you?"

"Hi Goliath, sorry I wasn't there to greet you guys tonight, duty called."

"That is alright, Elisa.. you do not need to be there every awakening."

"I'm glad you understand," Elisa said, a smile lighting her face. "Listen, I wanted to ask a favor of you..."

"Anything."

"I was wondering if you'd meet me at Central Park around 4:00 am, in the usual spot," Elisa asked. The spot she was referring to was a quiet clearing off one of the beaten paths in Central Park. Many times in the last few weeks, Goliath and her had met there, it being a half way point between the castle and her apartment. "I should be off work by then, so we can discuss the case."

"Fine then, I will be there at 4:00 am. Until then, Elisa," Goliath rumbled quietly.

"Bye Goliath," Elisa said as she hung up the phone.

Turning around, Elisa found Matt giving her a curious look.

"What?"

"And how do you expect to accomplish this?"

"What do you mean?"

"Meet Goliath and all?"

"Simple," Elisa said smiling. "By the time we finish our work, it'll be around 4 am anyway.. so, you can drop me off at Central Park and take my car to your place. Then, all you have to do is pick me up tomorrow night for work. I'll have my own ride home. Is there a problem with that?"

Matt smiled evilly as he snatched the keys out of Elisa's hands. "Not at all," Matt said as he walked towards her door. Of course he wouldn't be upset, not if he got to take her car for the rest of the night and the next day. This was a miracle... Elisa never let anyone touch her baby but her. This, was going to be fun. Waltzing out the door, Matt waiting as Elisa shut off all of the lights behind them and locked the door on her way out. Turning, the partners left the building. Next destination: the hospital.

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From outside in the cool night air, the being watched in curiosity as the two humans entered the building. ~I wonder what they are doing now?~ he thought to himself. From a vantage point on another room, he sat and watched, until a sudden light at the top of the building caught his attention. Curious, he quickly flew till he was standing atop the roof, and was happy to see large sky lights, where the light was originating from. Being very careful, the being landed quietly upon the roof and then cautiously peeked into the bright room. Inside, he watched as his prey entered the living room and headed towards a telephone. Her partner walked quickly into the kitchen carrying a small gray ball of fluff. With no hesitation, the man quickly began rummaging through the cupboards, removing a bag of some sort. "He acts as though he lives here," the being thought to himself. But from the mail sitting on a nearby table, the being knew that was not so. On all of the letters and bills was written "Elisa Maza." ~Do they live together?~ he asked himself. That would definitely put a crick in his plans if the pair was married, dating, or even just rooming together. Unbeknownst to the inhabitants of the room, he continued to watch as the man stepped beside Elisa who was busy talking on the telephone. The pair talked for a couple minutes more before leaving the apartment. Not knowing where they were off to, the being resigned himself into just following the pair, waiting for his chance to administer the test. Then he'd find out about their relationship, and whether or not it would mess up his well laid plans. "At least one good thing came of this," he muttered to himself as he once more launched himself into the air. "At least now I know where she lives and where I can find her."

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Memorial hospital- 8:00pm

Quickly Matt and Elisa flashed the nurse their badges before ascertaining the girl's condition.

"So, how is she doing?" Elisa asked the nurse who was trying her best to ignore them and do other things.

"Hold on a sec, let me check," the nurse said, flashing them a tight smile. It was obvious to the pair that the nursing staff at the hospital didn't appreciate the detectives disturbing her quiet ward. With a subtle glare in their direction, the portly woman turned around and began rummaging through some charts. "Let's see.. here we go, Jamie Peterson. It looks like she's going to be alright. A little tired and sore, but the blood transfusions did the trick."

"Can we see her?" Elisa asked quickly.

"I don't know, she really does need her rest," the woman said, eyeing the paper work she was working on before their interruption, not before giving Elisa a cold look first.

"Please? We won't take long," Matt asked, giving the woman his puppy dog expression, the kind that had a tendency to melt the hardest of women's hearts.

Amazingly enough, it worked. "Well..." the nurse said, drawing out the word in suspense, "I suppose, but you have to make it short, that girl's been through quite an ordeal and really needs her rest."

Nodding his head solemnly, Matt began backing away from the nurse in the direction of Jamie's room, before doing a full out turn and walking brusquely away, Elisa on his heels.

"How do you do that?" Elisa asked, arching her eyebrows at him.

"It's the old Bluestone charm.. works every time," Matt bragged.

Holding back a sharp come back, Elisa settled herself to dutifully following Matt into the girl's room. ~Time for some good old question and answer sessions~ Elisa thought to herself. After this, they'd probably start interviewing more witnesses, and hopefully get another break in their case. After that, she would get to spend some quality time with Goliath before sunrise, and hopefully be able to bring him up to date on the case.

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Central Park- Wednesday, October 15, 4:05 am

"Are you sure about this Elisa?" Matt asked as he glanced over the foreboding shadows found throughout the area. The partners had just spent the last eight hours or so digging around for more clues and just working on their case. Now, like scheduled, they were punched out at the station and were currently parked in front of one of the many entrances to Central Park. Sighing, Matt looked away from Elisa and stared out the car window. The park entrance was dark and gloomy, with tall trees on either side of the dark sidewalk. On this part of the path, there were no street lights to brighten the gloom.

Taking the keys out of the ignition, Elisa turned to Matt, who was sitting in the passenger side seat and said, "Don't tell me you're backing out of your first and only chance to drive my car."

As she swung the keys in front of Matt's eyes, he finally gave in to temptation and grabbed them greedily. Then, he hopped out of the car and walked to the driver's side. As Elisa headed for the park entrance, Matt quickly grabbed her arm and said, "Elisa, please be careful. You know as well as I do that Central Park is no place to be alone at night, even if you're a cop and have a seven foot winged guy as a protector."

"I know Matt. Look, Goliath's probably already here and waiting.. I'll be fine," Elisa reassured, giving him a bright smile as she firmly, but gently unhooked his hand from her arm. Giving him a final wave, Elisa stepped into the shadows of the park.

Sighing, Matt realized that she was right. If anyone could take care of themselves, it was definitely Elisa. Plus, there was no way he could convince her otherwise. Not to mention the fact that she had one **very** big protector to look after her if anything went wrong. As Matt pulled away from the curve, he couldn't help wondering how close the two actually were. I mean, as far as he knew, Goliath and Elisa were just friends. Still, he always sensed that there was something more to the whole thing. Oh well, it's none of his business, and if it was, Elisa would tell him. He trusted her judgment, and if she ever decided that there was something more between her and the big guy... well, that was her decision. Goliath was a great guy, and although the relationship would definitely be interesting it... wait a minute. Why was he sitting here worrying about something that wasn't any of his business, not to mention a valid concern at that time, when he could be giving Elisa's car a real test drive. Smiling, Matt hit the gas pedal and was off.

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The creature smiled in anticipation as he watched the scene unfold before him. This was too perfect! His prey was walking right into a perfect set up.. it couldn't get any better. He couldn't have picked a better place to subdue her if he had tried. Central Park was the ideal place for their meeting. Watching from the trees, he couldn't hear the conversation, but got the gist of it from watching. It looked as though her male companion didn't want her to go. Tightening his grip on the tree branch he was perched upon, the creature watched in suspense. As Elisa pried her companions hand off her arm and headed for the park, he sighed in relief. Soon, his prey was in the park and heading down one of the paths. The time was now...

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As Elisa walked down the paved sidewalk, she couldn't help but let her mind wander. To be honest, she couldn't wait to see Goliath. I mean, they were just friends and all, but they were really good friends. Sure, he did mean a lot more to her than any of the other guys... well, than any of her friends period, but that didn't mean anything. ~Come on, a relationship with him just couldn't work no matter how much you wanted it to... or could it?~ shaking her head, Elisa's black hair flying over her shoulders, she quickly banished all thoughts of that from her mind. "Talk about a headache," she muttered to herself. Looking down at her watch, Elisa cursed under breath. "Shit, I was supposed to be there ten minutes ago. He better wait around or else I'm going to have to try and get a cab." Quickening her pace, Elisa continued down the path.

Looking around, she shuddered unconsciously. It sure looked a lot different when she was alone rather than with Goliath as company. She was walking on a paved sidewalk with tall trees to either side, the massive branches completely blocking out all moonlight. "Easy, Elisa," she muttered quietly under her breath, her voice calming her slightly. "Just a couple more corners before you leave the path and fight your way into the clearing." A sudden sound off in the trees, slightly behind her, startled her out of her mutterings. Snapping her head around, Elisa peered into the gloom, trying to make out any shapes. As her heart began to pound with adrenaline, Elisa began to slowly back away, toward the area of her and Goliath's meeting. Without trying to be too noticeable, Elisa slid her hand inside her jacket and put her hand on the butt of her gun. "Hello?" she asked quietly, feeling like a complete idiot.

Suddenly, something walked slowly out of the gloom. "Hello, Elisa Maza," replied a deep male voice.

Gasping at the mention of her name, Elisa backed up a few more steps and pulled the gun completely out it's holster. ~One yell, and Goliath would come running~ she thought, trying to reassure herself. "Who are you? How do you know my name?" Elisa asked quickly, bringing her gun to bear on the person. As her eyes adjusted to the dark, she began to make out details. As far as she could tell, it was a male of about six two or six three in height. It looked as though he was wearing black jeans, a black long sleeved silk shirt, and black boots. The reason she could tell this is because while everything else was gray and gloomy, he was like the absence of light. She could see his hands and face clearly, for they were a lighter color, paler than her own skin tone. To top it off, it looked as though he had black hair pulled back in a pony tail, similar to Xanatos. He looked to be about thirty or so, yet his face had no lines and he portrayed a sense of wisdom. His eyes were the strangest part, for they were the darkest black she had ever seen. ~This guy is strange~ Elisa thought to herself, withstanding the urge to call for Goliath, yet.

"My name is Krishna, and I know that you are Elisa Maza because that is what that male called you. You are a detective, second class, for the NYPD. Currently, you are working on that vampire case," he said, emphasizing the word vampire as though it was laughable. "As for your next question, I'm here for you."

~Okay, definitely bad~ Elisa thought to herself as her fear heightened. "Listen Krishna, or whoever you are, I have someone very big waiting just around the corner from me and if he finds you here, then you will be in some very deep trouble. Not to mention the fact that I have a gun trained on you," Elisa warned as her finger clicked off the safety of her gun and tightened on the trigger.

Frowning, Krishna looked at her gun. "I'm giving you a chance to be smart and put the gun down Elisa.. it's in your best interest," he warned.

"You've got to be kidding me," Elisa scoffed. ~Don't tell me that this guy really thinks I'm going to put down my gun.. or even that he could hurt me. That most that'll happen is he'll try to do something and end up with a bullet hole~ Elisa thought to herself.

"Your gun is completely unnecessary as I promise that you will never get the chance to fire it at me," Krishna said in a disapproving tone. "As for this friend of yours who is waiting for you, he'll never get the chance to see or meet me."

Before Elisa could react to this statement, Krishna rushed her faster than her senses could react. As he knocked his weight into her hers, Elisa grunted and felt the wind get knocked out of her as she was pushed to the ground. To her amazement, Krishna also managed to grab her gun and stash it in his waist band. As Elisa lay gasping on the ground for air, she made a vain attempt to call for help. "Goliath!" she rasped as she tried to scramble away. She was helpless and she knew it.. along with Krishna.

Smiling apologetically, Krishna said, "I'm truly sorry for having to do that Elisa, but I couldn't have you shooting me, now could I? Now, why don't we go some place a little more private?"

Elisa had no idea what he had in mind, and no idea to find out either. Still trying to regain her breath, Elisa scrambled to her feet and started to run towards the clearing Goliath would be waiting in. Before she made it even two feet, she felt two powerful arms encircle her waist and lift her in the air, pinning her arms to her side. As she kicked and wiggled about, she was carried a little ways into the trees. Then, without any warning she was abruptly dropped on the ground. Gasping, Elisa scrambled forward on her hands and knees and then got to her feet, trying to run once more. Then she stopped abruptly and faced her attacker. Not only a couple feet away was Krishna. As Elisa's mind kicked into defensive mode, Elisa lowered her stance and faced him squarely. It was obvious that in her condition she wouldn't be able to outrun him, and until her voice came back, she'd just have to face him.

As Krishna saw this, he stood his ground and watched with a bemused expression on his face. Then, Elisa attacked. Reaching forward, she made as if to punch him, Krishna quickly moving to block. Then, in a blink of an eye Elisa changed tactics and used one of her powerful roundhouse kicks on him. Her aim was right on as she kicked him squarely in the chin. He didn't even flinch. Before she could try again, he rushed her once more, this time so her back was against a tree. As her head slammed against the tree, Elisa's vision swam briefly and her knees began to buckle. Before she could fall to the ground, Krishna pressed his body against hers, wedging her between him and the tree. He was face to face with her, his chest against hers as he pushed her against the unforgiving wood, his arm wrapped around the trunk of the massive oak. Opening her mouth, Elisa's scream was quickly cut off as Krishna's other hand covered her mouth. To her astonishment, it was ice cold. As her wide, frightened eyes looked into his, she saw a glint that she didn't notice before. A glint of excitement?

"I'm impressed at your spirit, but perhaps we should tone things down a bit for travel," Krishna suggested as he looked deep into Elisa's eyes, as though he could see right through to her very soul. "You're not like the other girls... you actually tried to fight back, and proved yourself a worthy opponent at the same time. Maybe you are the one. Then again, if you're not, you won't live to see morning. Only the test will tell."

Elisa had no idea what the lunatic was talking about, but she did know one thing... she was in trouble. What did he mean about 'the other girls'? Where was Goliath? She had made enough ruckus that he should have heard something. Where was Goliath when she really needed him? Then her eyes widened as Krishna forcibly turned her head to the side. As she felt a tight, searing pain in her neck, as though someone was cutting it open and forcing something in, she had her answers. She had finally found her serial killer, and was getting a one on one session with him. Here was her vampire. Wincing, Elisa closed her eyes and tried to withstand the pain.. but then the pain changed. As she felt whatever had entered her neck withdraw, she felt a new sensation begin. Now, it felt as though someone was sucking the wound, draining something out of her. As this happened, the hand that was covering her mouth dropped and was instead placed on her neck. Instead of screaming for help, Elisa found herself moaning as the purest form of ecstasy filled her body. The pain and the other feelings mixed together to form a weird sensation in her body that matched no other she had ever felt before. Then, she began to feel a weakness as her knees began to buckle. Soon, the other hand dropped as well as he moved it under her shoulders to support her as he gently lowered her to the leave covered ground. Her mind barely registered the fact that she was now half sitting, half laying on the leave strewn ground, her only support was his arms wrapped around her body as his lips were pressed greedily to her neck. To her dismay, her rational mind also noted that her arms were wrapped tightly around him as well, holding him to her body and his head to her neck. Before she could change anything, the tremendous pleasure swept her away once more. Then, there was darkness.

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As soon as Krishna had the woman pushed against the tree and thoroughly immobilized, he taunted her first and then turned her neck to the side. Preparing himself, he felt the usual excitement well in him. This was the way it always was.. just as he was about to break the skin and get the first taste of the sweet elixir of blood, his adrenaline started to flow. His excitement was heightened by the fact that he had just finished a great work out with her. She would probably have been a force to reckon with.. if she was facing a normal human that is. Briefly, he wondered what she would taste like. Blood was blood no matter whose you drank.. but if she was the one, would he know it just by the taste?

Without wasting any more time, Krishna lowered his lips to her exposed neck. To his trained eye he could clearly see the vein throbbing with her life essence. His drink would be a small one, just enough to put her out of it for awhile.. not the kind of drink he used on the other girls in his new turf. As his lips brushed against her neck, he smelled the sweet scent of her skin. He loved doing this, drawing out the excitement for as long as possible as his anticipation grew. Finally, he couldn't stand it any longer as he opened his mouth and bit his fangs deep into her neck. Most people thought that a vampire would leave their fangs imbedded in their victim's neck, but that doesn't do a thing. The fangs are merely for breaking the skin and the vein, allowing the blood to flow freely. As he withdrew his fangs from her neck, her sweet blood began to flow into his mouth. At the first taste, there was a bright bolt in his system as he was instantly pushed into ecstasy. Without even thinking he automatically drew her closer to him, holding her firmly in his tight grip. Instead of a little sip as planned, he was now pressing his lips firmly against the wound, drinking greedily. Soon the blood wasn't coming out fast enough and he found himself sucking greedily at the wound. He was lost to the world around him.

When Krishna's senses finally returned, he found himself sitting on his knees, Elisa's limp body cradled in his arms with his mouth still attached firmly to her neck. Gasping he jerked his head up quickly. ~Did I kill her?~ he asked himself. Reaching down in worry, he was relieved to feel a heartbeat, although weak. He had to be more careful... without even realizing it, he had almost drained her of all blood, all in a matter of five minutes even. She had to be the one.. no one's blood had ever done that to him before, carried him away like that and lose control. He'd have to be more careful in the future. Looking down, he saw that she was pale and lifeless. "Not good, not good," Krishna murmured to himself. How was he to administer the test if she wasn't conscious for it? Coming to a decision, Krishna brought his wrist to his lip and bit a small hole in one of his blue veins. Then, he lowered his bleeding wrist to her neck and dropped some blood onto her wound. In a matter of seconds, the once visible holes closed up and some of the color returned to her face. It was amazing to think about it. Just a single drop of his blood caused all of her wounds to heal and added enough nourishment back to bring her back to almost normal levels. Unlike popular beliefs though, his blood would not make her a vampire. Of course, when he did find the one he was looking for, he would make her a vampire like himself, but it required a lot more than giving her a little bit of his blood. When you came right down to it, his blood was just the blood stolen from others.

Deciding to get on with it, Krishna gently lifted the now sleeping mortal into his arms. It felt so right, her cradled in his arms. What a pair they must make also, their long black hair blowing in the wind, both beautiful or handsome in their own exotic way. His original plan was to administer the test there in the park, like he did with the other women.. this time though, her friend nearby would only cause problems. For once, he would break his carefully laid rules and take her back to his lair. There, all of his questions would be answered. By merely thinking, Krishna rose into the dark night sky, without the aid of wings or other common tools of flight. Then, he began his journey to his home, the wind blowing by gently, making his cold skin even colder.

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Clearing in Central Park, ten minutes earlier

~Where is Elisa?~ Goliath thought to himself impatiently. Late again, of course. That was alright though, because at least he would get a chance to see her. Lately he had been seeing less and less of her. Tonight though, he was worried and couldn't wait to see his human friend. The case that she was working on was really beginning to worry him. Sure, she was a great detective and a great fighter, but still, this was an unusually dangerous case. She was facing a serial killer that killed women in her own age group. Not to mention tearing apart anyone that was with the women. To make it worse, the killer had probably seen her, when she interrupted his work with the girl. He better not let Elisa know what he was thinking... if anyone dared to doubt her ability to take care of herself, they were in for it. Elisa.. what was he going to do about her. It was hard for him to deny that he was beginning to feel something more for the human detective than mere friendship. Then again, nothing could ever come of it. They were of different species. Still, her long black hair and large eyes...

Smiling to himself, Goliath lost himself once more in thoughts of Elisa. Had he only been paying attention, his sensitive ears might have picked up the sound of a scuffle, the distant sound of breaking branches, and maybe even the sound of a feminine voice talking, or moaning in pain. If only he had been listening, perhaps then Elisa would have been saved. If only he had been listening would Goliath have been able to spare Elisa from the torment she was about to be forced into. If only...

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Castle in New York- 4:30 am

As Krishna soared through Manhattan, he headed in a specific direction.. across Central Park. He still wasn't sure how his lawyer had managed it, but with the lad's help, he had been able to build a large castle in one heavily wooded area of the park. It was there that he flew to now. The castle was modest, for a castle anyway, and even though it had just been built, it had the appearance of one aged and haunted. Quickly, he landed on his deserted balcony, the large glass doors open before him.

Even though Krishna was an all powerful vampire that had been around for centuries, there was a lot that he didn't know. Death was his main question. There was many a time in which Krishna longed for the peace that death would bring, but the fear it always kept him from completing the act. What if after he died he merely died, never to know any kind of existence again. He didn't believe in Heaven or Hell, not even God.. what kind of god would let creatures like him roam the earth?? Then again, he didn't believe he was the spawn of the devil, or even an evil creature. It was merely in his nature to do what he did.

You see, it wasn't like he was just born a vampire.. he had been human once. It was long ago, back in the late tenth century. He was a guard in one of the lord's castles in Italy. He had lived a happy existence there, with his own wife and child. Then one night a sudden noise distracted Krishna from his post. When he went to investigate, he found a woman hiding there of unimaginable beauty. Before he could say nary a word, she attacked him and sunk her teeth deep into his neck. When he awoke, he found himself in a cave deep beneath the earth. The woman said that she was a vampire and looking for her love. She wanted to give him some sort of test, and promised that if he cooperated fully with her, she would soon return him to his family. Well, he didn't fully remember the test, but later he was told that he passed. Therefore, she turned him into a vampire, against his will, and never let him see his wife or young son again.

The centuries passed, and eventually Krishna forgave his immortal love for her act against him. After enough time passed, he even learned to love her. That's why it was an enormous shock when one evening he discovered a pile of ashes beside her casket. In shock, he dropped to his knees, not wanting to believe. It was her note that finally convinced him. He had the whole thing memorized. It went like this:

My Beloved Krishna,   
My love for you knows no bounds.. but I fear that I can nary carry on this existence. I've lived this endless life for five centuries now.. two with you, and the other three with the one who changed me. I'm sorry that I forced the life upon you that I have... the same was done with me. I know that you will not believe this, but some have actually gone willingly with their designated one.. it took but one look at the way you looked after your son and wife that I knew this would not be the case with you. Also, I know that deep down, you still carry a place of hatred for me in your heart. I can no longer go on like this.. it's time for me to find out what happens next, and to hopefully see the husband and child I left behind so long ago. I will finally see the sun. Before I go, I must tell you all that you will need to know. In time, you will desire another companion.. another chosen one if you will. In order to be sure of her, you must administer the test. The actual test is quite easy I'm afraid.. all you must do is take her. Yes, you heard me correct... take her as your lover. If she is able to resist you and fights back, then you know that she is the one. Only the chosen are able to fight off a vampire. Even if she fights you, you must take her. DO NOT RELENT!! I know that this will displease you, but it is the only way. For your sake, I hope your search is not long. Good luck my love. Don't forget your weakness.. your own heart and sunlight- it can and will kill you my love. Ah my darling, the sun is rising... it's so beautiful. I love you eternally, my everlasting love.   
Sita

Her death has weighed heavily on Krishna's heart for many centuries.. what was even worse was the way of administering the test. He was still soft in that time, and the thought of, well of raping a woman, taking her against her will repulsed him. Now though, that was not as much as a concern for him. Every once in a while though, it did happen, that he became upset, but he was working to remedy that. If it was the only way to have love, then he'd do it. Unfortunately, he'd never had a woman yet that resisted him.. almost immediately all had succumbed to his vampire charm. It was because of this that he hoped Elisa would fight like a banshee.

Looking up from his reverie, Krishna moved more into the room. Like the rest of the castle, it was decorated with the time period.. namely the tenth century. It was easy to see that this particular room was to be a bed chamber, for a large bed dominated one wall, with a fire place set in to the wall across from it. As his boots echoed on the stone floor, Krishna walked up to the massive bed and very gently laid Elisa on bed, the red of her jacket matching with the red sheets and covers, her black hair fanning out beneath her head. Not everything was medieval, for in place of coarse sheets that went with the time, he instead had silk sheets of a red color.

Straightening, Krishna barely had time to back away before his dark beauty awakened. Groaning, he watched as her eyelids fluttered and as she raised a quivering hand to her head. It was time for the test.

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Groaning, Elisa raised her hand to her head as she tried to get her eyes to focus. "Oh God, what happened?" she mumbled as she slowly lifted her body into a sitting position. "What in the.." she cursed quickly as she saw her surroundings. She was sitting on a bed with a really hard mattress, red satin sheets beneath her that was sitting with it's headboard against the middle of a stone wall. Directly across the stone floor was a large fire place, cold and filled with ashes. Shivering, she tightened her arms around her. Looking around she saw a large oak door to her right and a glass door that dominated the wall to her left. Peering closer, Elisa saw that it led out to some sort of balcony. Even worse than not knowing where she was, standing to her left was a strange man. "Krishna!" Elisa gasped, all of the memories coming back quickly. "How did I get here? What did you do to me?"

Smiling, Krishna said, "Ah, I see you remember our little encounter."

"How could I forget?" Elisa asked, unconsciously rubbing the back of her head where it had hit the tree in their struggle. "What am I doing here? What do you want with me?"

"We're at my castle retreat... just a few minutes flying distance from our encounter point in Central Park. I just want to ask a few questions," Krishna lied, smiling charmingly.

"Then I can go?" Elisa asked, looking at the door behind him. If she was in a normal situation, she would have fought her way out of there in an instant.. she wasn't even tied up or anything. Unfortunately, she wasn't in a normal situation. Elisa knew without a doubt that there was no way she would be leaving this place alive without his consent.. something that did not sit well with her at all.

"Yes, then you can go," Krishna said in his most convincing voice.

"Yeah, right," Elisa muttered quietly. "First of all, what are you? What did you do to me back there?"

"I'm surprised at you.. you haven't figured it out yet? I'm a vampire, and all I did back there was take a little nip of your blood to make you more.. well, more reasonable for traveling."

"First gargoyles, then loch ness monsters, to banshees, aliens, fae to ghosts.. now vampires," Elisa muttered under her breath, shaking her head in disbelief.

"What?" Krishna asked, leaning forward to hear her.

"Never mind," Elisa sighed wearily. "I don't suppose a cross would help my situation any?"

"Not in the slightest," Krishna replied with a grin as he moved the collar of his shirt around and held something up into the light. "As you can see, I wear a cross myself."

"Don't you find that a bit odd... a vampire wearing a holy item?" Elisa asked sarcastically.

Narrowing his eyes, Krishna stared hard at Elisa before asking, "You don't believe that I'm a vampire?"

"Oh yes, I do believe that.." Elisa trailed off.

"You are not surprised at what I am?" Krishna asked, his eyes narrowing as he saw her calm face. Usually when he told someone that he was of the undead, they'd freak out. Elisa, on the other hand, was extremely calm, and if anything, she looked annoyed.

"I've seen worse. There are a lot of stranger things in this world than you."

"Like what, for example?" Krishna asked, arching an eyebrow in disbelief. This was getting interesting for him.

"You're the one that's been killing all of the girls," Elisa said, voicing what she had realized earlier and quickly changing the subject.

"Correct. Now, it's my turn to ask the questions. What's your relationship with the man you were with tonight? The one with the red hair?"

"Well.. uh."

"Don't lie to me Elisa, it would serve you no purpose. I'm not going to harm him, I just want to know what your relationship is. Plus, the sooner I get the answers I need, the sooner you get to leave."

"He's my partner," Elisa said slowly. She didn't want to give Matt's name or anything that may cause him harm. She didn't think that the guy could do much by telling him they were partners, but that was about all she was going to tell him.

"Just your partner? You're not married or dating?"

"With Matt?" Elisa asked, raising her eyebrow in surprise. "No, we're just partners."

"Good.. is there anyone else that you have a relationship with?" Krishna asked. The whole reason behind his questioning was that he didn't want to take someone that had a husband and family. After what had been done with him, he just didn't want to split up another family. Needless to say, he would still take a person if they were married, but it did help to ease his conscious when there wasn't a significant other.

"No," Elisa said firmly, all the while thinking of Goliath. There was no way in hell she would be telling this creep about the gargoyles. She'd rather die than give up their secret. Deep down, she realized that whatever this was all about, it most likely already had something to do with them. As much as she loved the clan, she had to admit that most to all of her problems had one thing or another to do with them. There was no reason for someone to want her for who she was... they usually only wanted her because she was associated with the clan... not something she was about to give up.

"Good," Krishna said as he turned his back on Elisa and walked towards the fire place. Humming to himself, he crouched down on his hands and knees and began work on building a fire.

Puzzled, Elisa sat where she was, her eyes roaming back and forth between the balcony door and the wooden door to her right. Now was her chance, and she only had to pick which door to go for. The balcony door meant immediate freedom, but there may not be any place to go from there. As for the door to her right, it obviously led into the interior of the building she was in. There was very good odds that there was a way out of the building from there, but the odds that he'd catch her were very great. To make it worse, it wasn't like she could just hide out and wait for someone to rescue her... no one knew where she was. Finally, her great desire to be out of the building and back into the night allowed her to make her choice: the balcony it was. Looking towards the fireplace, Elisa was relieved to see that Krishna was still busy humming and playing with his growing fire. Very quietly, Elisa began edging towards the edge of the bed. The moment her feet touched the ground, Krishna spoke up.

"I wouldn't bother trying to escape Elisa. There's no where for you to go."

Startled, Elisa paused for only a minute longer before charging for the door. She made it only half way there before the glass before her.. changed. In its place, a solid wooden door appeared. Gasping, Elisa stepped back several paces... right into something. Turning around, her frightened eyes saw Krishna towering in front of her.

"I said, I wouldn't bother trying to escape if I were you."

"How did you do that?" Elisa asked, her voice quavering in fear. She hated to hear that quiver in her voice, but could do nothing to stop it.

"You don't think that a vampire would be without power of his own, do you? I figured that a solid door would provide less temptation than the glass was for you."

"You said you'd let me go once I answered your questions," Elisa accused, backing slowly away from Krishna. She was backing towards the door, when Krishna started advancing towards her. A couple seconds later, she realized that his movement was forcing her away from the door until she was backing back towards the bed.

"And I will.. but first, why don't you make yourself a little more comfortable?"

"I'm fine, thanks!" Elisa said back sharply, keeping a careful eye on her enemy's movements.

"No, with this fire going, you are probably getting warm in your jacket.. why don't you take it off and have a seat?" Krishna suggested, indicating the fireplace off to her right.

Elisa took only a moment to glance in the direction he indicated. In place of the cold ashes, there was now a large fire in the hearth... the only problem was that the fire seemed to be going of its own will. As far as she could see, there was no wood feeding the flames. Narrowing her eyes, Elisa glared at Krishna. "I'd prefer to keep my jacket on and to stand."

"I said, take off your jacket," Krishna said, a hard edge entering his voice, replacing his deceptive calm and charm.

Gulping, Elisa met his gaze and said "No. My jacket is staying on."

"I SAID TAKE IT OFF!" Krishna roared, leaning towards her. Before she could stop him, he reached forward and pulled on the jacket, slipping it off of her form in a very rough manner.

Shocked, Elisa stepped back quickly, now wearing only her thin black tee shirt, bumping into the large bed, causing her to fall back on to the mess of sheets and blankets. Leaning back on her elbows, Elisa quickly began to scoot back away from Krishna. Before she had made it very far, Krishna jumped forward on to the bed. Hitting and struggling, Elisa could do nothing as Krishna's overwhelming strength quickly overpowered her. To her horror, she was now laying in the middle of the bed, Krishna straddling her middle, with her hands pinned by him above her head.

Krishna looked at the woman below him.. she was beautiful. "You are the one," he whispered, not aware he was speaking aloud.

"What are you talking about?" Elisa demanded viciously, yanking her hands futilely.

"No one has been able to withstand my commands.. no one has ever been able to fight back."

"What kind of person would just sit there and take it?!" Elisa demanded, glaring at him with hatred in her eyes.

"You are almost done with the test.. and after that, in time I will make you mine."

"You're crazy!" Elisa accused.

"Maybe," Krishna agreed as he leaned forward, his lips brushing against hers.

"No," Elisa moaned, tears glinting in her eyes as she shook her head from side to side, trying to deny what she knew was happening. ~Goliath~ she whispered in her head.

Sitting up, Krishna pulled her hands until they were touching above her head, then he switched his hold until he was holding them with one hand. No matter how much she struggled, there'd be no way for her to break his grip.. it was like iron. His strength was of no match to her. Slowly, Krishna brought his other hand down until he was gently stroking her cheek. Cursing, Elisa brought her head around and tried to bite him, anything to make him stop. Quickly he brought his hand away and glared at her. "Behave.. it will make things much easier."

"Not on your life!" Elisa yelled.

Shrugging his shoulders, Krishna merely lifted his hand from her face and very slowly lowered it to her midsection. In shock, he realized that it was shaking. Slowly, he laid his hand on her heaving chest, right below her bust line. Her breath was coming out in quick gasps.. dimly he realized that she was nearly hyperventilating in panic. With his quivering hand, Krishna reached forward and lay his hand on her breasts. It was a like a dam had broken. No longer restraining himself, Krishna groaned and allowed his hand to roam all over, feeling and massaging every inch.

Drumming her feet against the bed, Elisa tried but couldn't move an inch.. his weight was like a ton of bricks sitting on her middle.

Closing her eyes, Elisa tried in vain to block out what was happening. To no avail. She could do nothing but think of Goliath.. her Goliath.

Krishna had never felt like this before.. never was his pleasure so great... nor the need. With an urgency he never felt before, Krishna reached forward and grabbed the thing that Elisa had not noticed on her original inspection of the room. Very quickly and expertly he forced one hand in after another and locked the handcuff down around her wrist.. securely fastening her hand to the headboard. Now her arms had very little slack and were pretty much secured.

Finally Elisa decided to try one last thing. "Krishna, I never would have thought that a mighty 'vampire' like you would resort to rape!"

"What?" Krishna asked, jumping back as though he had been slapped. What was he doing? Was he really going to rape this poor woman? Wait, he was beyond worrying about this, wasn't he? He never was afraid of doing it with the others.. but the others never fought back, so it wasn't really rape, was it? But if she was the one, could she ever really forgive him for it? No, he couldn't do this.. anything but this, especially to her. Besides, hadn't he already found the answer he was looking for? Never before had a woman been able to withstand him and would have caved under his hypnotic stare at the very beginning. No, this was wrong.. he just couldn't do it to her, not Elisa.

Meeting her fiery and defiant gaze, Krishna realized that not once had she held on to him, but fought the whole way. That was about to change, for as he bit her neck and the volley of blood entered his mouth, his body turned rigid as he pulled her closer. Now, Elisa clutched him to her as well, lost in the sensation of the blood draining. The two humans clutched each other, lost in an act that was immortal to time itself.. Krishna's mouth locked against her neck. When Elisa's body finally grew limp next to his, Krishna finally withdrew and stepped weakly back. Now blood stained her beautiful neck while she slept peacefully on the bed. She had passed the test as far as he was concerned and she would never remember a moment of it.

******************************************************************************

Elisa's apartment - 6:12 am

Quickly, Goliath landed lightly on the balcony, careful not to make a sound. From all appearances, the apartment appeared deserted, all of the lights off within. Very carefully, Goliath lifted the latch to Elisa's skylight and let himself into the apartment. All looked as it should, but Goliath was still unconvinced. He had waited for Elisa ever since their appointed time, and with dawn so near, Goliath had to decide between returning to the castle or traveling to Elisa's apartment. The choice was clear... he couldn't return yet without knowing that Elisa was all right.

Glancing over his shoulder, Goliath saw that the sun was rising- according to his internal alarm clock, he had about five minutes. Quietly, Goliath picked his way around the dark outlines of furniture and headed towards Elisa's bedroom. He had never been beyond the door before, and he felt a little uncomfortable about being there.. but he had to know she was safe. Quietly, Goliath pushed the door open and stepped within the dark room. All of the shades were drawn and Goliath made out the outline of Elisa's bed in the far corner. Moving quietly, Goliath headed towards the bed. To his great relief, he saw Elisa's form huddled beneath the blankets. Kneeling down beside her, Goliath looked at his friend. Only her head and the top of her torso was sticking above the blankets. From what he could see, she was wearing a pale blue tee shirt. Smiling, Goliath reached down and pulled the blankets up closer to Elisa's neck, tenderly tucking her in. She was beautiful.. the way her black hair fanned around her head, the peaceful expression on her face only made possible by sleep.

Sighing, Goliath climbed to his feet and walked quietly from the room, careful to shut her bedroom door behind her. With the morning sun starting to light the way, Goliath quickly found his way to the far corner of her apartment. There, he knelt down once more in his thinker's pose, a small smile caressing his face as his skin hardened into stone. From the obvious smile on his face, it was easy to see that thoughts of Elisa accompanied him into the dark oblivion of sleep.

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Elisa's apartment - 6:40pm

As the sun began it's glorious descent over the horizon, and audible cracking filled Elisa's apartment as Goliath's stone skin cracked once more, just as it always did for the last century. Stretching luxuriously, Goliath turned to face Elisa.. and was surprised at what he saw in her place. Instead of the warm light he expected to see flooding the apartment, he saw only gloom as the darkness overtook the night; instead of seeing movement from Elisa and Cagney, he saw no one.. only an eerie stillness in the lonely apartment. "Elisa?" Goliath asked slowly. When he got no answer, Goliath became nervous and began searching the small apartment. Soon, all of the rooms had been checked except for the bedroom. Moving slowly, Goliath carefully eased open the bedroom door. To his shock and amazement, he saw the form of Elisa still huddled under the covers, in the same spot that he had left her in over twelve hours ago. Quickly Goliath moved to her side and shook her gently. "Elisa?" he asked quietly.

"Hmm?" Elisa sighed as her eyes opened slowly. When they focused on Goliath, she quickly sat up in her bed and pulled the covers around her. "Goliath, what are you doing here? What time is it?"

"Elisa, ah.. I was worried when you didn't show up last night at our planned time. I waited for a couple hours in the park, but it was getting closer to sunrise. I came here because I was worried and found you asleep here. When I awoke a couple of minutes ago, I couldn't find you... I was worried. Have you been sleeping the whole time?"

"What? What time is it?" Elisa asked again, trying to clear the fog out of her head. Not waiting for an answer, Elisa fumbled around on her bedside table until she found her alarm clock. As she tried to rub the sleep out of her eyes, she tried to focus on the alarm clock. "It's almost seven!" Elisa gasped. "Shit, Matt's going to be here to pick me up in about ten minutes!" Quickly Elisa hopped out of bed and ran to her dresser. She spent a couple seconds rummaging through it before she found what she was looking for. Then, she headed for the bathroom. Before she made it in, she turned to Goliath and said, "I'm sorry Big Guy.. could you wait in the living room? I'll be out in a couple of minutes.."

"Ah, yes.. I'll be in the living room," Goliath agreed uncertainly as he headed towards the indicated room.

Five minutes later, Elisa emerged from the bathroom dressed in her usual ensemble of jeans and a black tee. "Sorry, but I gotta get to work before the captain has my hide!" Elisa said apologetically as she sat on the floor and started to put on her shoes.

"I understand," Goliath said quietly. "Ah.. what did happen last night? I became worried when you didn't show..."

"I don't know," Elisa shrugged. "All I remember is Matt dropping me off at the park.. I guess that I must have been more tired than I thought and just grabbed a cab ride home. I'm sorry," Elisa apologized as she got to her feet and stood in front of her winged friend.

"Think nothing of it. I am just glad that you are alright," Goliath sighed as he brushed a lock of her hair out of her face. A little startled, Goliath pulled back and quickly turned on the lights, flooding the room with bright light.

"What is it Big Guy?" Elisa asked in concern as she watched his hurried movements.

"Elisa, are you feeling all right?" he asked worriedly, once more stepping to her side and taking her shoulders in his hands.

"Well, yeah.. just a little tired, must have overslept," Elisa replied, looking at Goliath as though he'd lost his mind.

"Have you looked in the mirror yet this morning?" he questioned, the worried note still in his voice.

"No.. why?" she asked suspiciously as she started walking to her bathroom.

"Your skin is really pale..."

Leaving Goliath in the living room, Elisa hurried into the bathroom and flipped on the light switch. Squinting at the sudden rush of light, Elisa blinked for a moment before staring at her reflection in the mirror. Goliath was right, she *was* pale.

"Elisa?" Goliath called from the living room.

Shrugging her shoulders in confusion, Elisa turned off the lights and walked back into the living room. "Beats me," she shrugged as she went into the kitchen and grabbed the key to unlock the container that held her gun. "Must be coming down with something," she murmured. "Now that's strange..."

"What?" Goliath asked, walking into the kitchen to stand beside her.

"Do you see my gun any where? Ever since that incident last year I keep my gun locked up in here, but I can't find it."

"You can't find it?"

"I guess that I must have been really tired and didn't put my gun away," Elisa mumbled as she began searching her apartment.

"I found it," Goliath called from in the living room. Stopping her search of the kitchen, Elisa hurried into the room and watched as Goliath gingerly lifted her piece from off of the table in her living room.

"Funny.. I wonder why I left it here," Elisa murmured as she accepted her gun from Goliath and slipped it in her holster as the doorbell rang. "Must be Matt," Elisa replied to Goliath's worried look. "Just to be safe, why don't you hide in my bedroom." Nodding in agreement, Goliath quietly moved to the safety of her bedroom as Elisa walked up to the door.

As soon as Goliath was hidden, Elisa quickly unlatched her locks and opened the door. Standing in the doorway was Matt, dressed in his usual trench coat, dress shirt, and pants, his red hair brushed back like always. "Come on partner, I've been waiting for you down there for the last fifteen minutes!"

Groaning, Elisa pulled Matt inside and said, "Yeah, and a hello to you to Matt."

"We can have time to say hello later, right now we have to get going or we're going to be late.." Matt trailed off as Goliath entered the room. "Hey Goliath.. awfully early for you to have glided all the way over.. something up?" he asked quickly, worry creasing his brow.

"No.. I was just in the area," Goliath said, thinking quickly.

"Ah great.. in any case, we gotta get going," Matt quickly replied as he grabbed a hold of Elisa's arm and began dragging her from the room. "Hey, are you alright? You look kind of pale tonight..." Matt trailed off as he pulled her from the room.

As the door slammed shut behind them, Goliath faintly heard Elisa mutter something like, "Yeah, yeah.. just a little tired tonight."

Shaking his head, Goliath smiled faintly before turning off the rest of the lights and quietly left the apartment via the skylight. As he locked the window behind him, Goliath couldn't help but marvel over the relationship that Elisa and Matt shared... talk about two people that were so different, squabbled playfully like crazy, but managed to pull off the best team work ever. "Incredible," Goliath murmured as he glided off the roof and headed towards Castle Wyvern to greet his worried clan and assure him of his well- being: no, he did not disappear on another tour of Avalon that would take him away from the clan with no word for many months.. he had no desire whatsoever to repeat that experience! Smiling, Goliath caught a wind draft and soared high into the dark night sky; watching as Elisa's red fairlane merged into traffic: onto yet another night of protecting the city for the both of them.

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Memorial Hospital - 9:30pm

As the two detectives moved through the hospital, many a person sent them a curious look; after all, it's not every day you see a woman with a red jacket and blue jeans with a man in a trench coat in a hospital at 9:30 at night. It just doesn't happen. "Matt, are you sure that she's been moved to a private room?" Elisa asked quietly as they moved through the dark hallways.

"Yeah, according the report from the captain, the blood transfusion really did do the job on Jamie.. she's almost back to normal now and they're just keeping her here for precaution- and also so we can have better protection."

"She still has guards at her door?"

"Yeah, the captain is concerned of the killer coming back to finish the job."

"As she should be..." Elisa trailed off as the turned the final hallway of the hospital. At the far end stood two police officers in front of the girl's door diligently, a large paned window beside them. "Here it is," she whispered as she moved down the hall. As she drew closer, Elisa saw that she recognized one of the officers. "Hey Morgan!"

"Hi Elisa, Matt," Morgan acknowledged as he nodded to the two detectives.

"Anything note worthy happen?"

"Nah, quiet as a mouse," Morgan replied with a smile. "Going to talk to the kid?"

"Yeah, we tried to question her last night, but whatever stuff they were giving her was too powerful. She was really out of it, so we decided to try again tonight," Matt replied.

"Well, go on in," Morgan replied as he opened the door for them. "The parents are down getting a bite to eat.. it took a lot to convince them that their daughter would be safe with us."

Nodding, Elisa quickly ducked into the room. The room looked the same as before, if anything just more balloons and flowers crowded the tiny room. Like any other hospital room, the pale greens and starch whites, created a dismal effect, completely offset by the enormous quantities of bright flowers and balloons. The girl, Jamie Peterson, was propped up in her bed watching some soap opera on tv. "Soap operas at night?" Elisa asked in disbelief, letting the girl know of the presence.

"Yeah, Mom and Dad taped it for me," Jamie replied as she unconsciously smoothed down her tousled blond hair.

"Got rid of your hospital greens?" Elisa asked, still trying to break the ice and the tension in the room.

"Uh, yeah.. they got these at home for me as well," Jamie said in a 'get to the point' manner as she looked down at her flannel pants and tee-shirt. "Do I know you?" she asked pointedly.

"Well, kind of," Elisa replied.

"Hi, I'm Detective Matt Bluestone, and this is my partner, Elisa Maza. We were here the other night, but you were kind of doped up.. we just have a couple questions for you," Matt put in. The minute he said Elisa's name, the girl instantly perked up and stared in wonder at Elisa, not even acknowledging the rest of what Matt had said.

"You're the one who found me," Jamie said quietly, her face never leaving Elisa's.

"Well, yeah.." Elisa replied, looking down uncomfortably.

"You saved my life.. thanks," Jamie said as she herself looked down in embarrassment.

"In any case," Matt coughed and said quietly, obviously trying to break the tension in the room, "we were wondering if you could answer some questions for us."

"Sure, although I don't think I'll be much help," Jamie confessed as she straightened her shoulders unconsciously.

"Well, really anything you can give us could help out a great deal," Elisa assured.

"Like I said, I'll try."

"Great.. well, for starters, can you tell us exactly what happened?" Matt questioned as he pulled out a small note pad and pencil, ready to take notes when needed.

"Okay," Jamie shrugged. "I was supposed to be staying the night at my friend, Emily's house. Then, well we got in a fight," Jamie answered sheepishly, "and I left in a huff. I didn't want to call and get in trouble with Mom and Dad, so I decided to walk home.. I mean, it was only six blocks or so."

~Stupid, real stupid~ Elisa thought to herself as she tried to keep the exasperation off her face. Trying to show an encouraging smile, Elisa motioned for her to continue.

"Well, as I passed by an alley past a restaurant, I heard someone calling for help..."

"This person.. could you tell if it was male or female?" Matt broke in eagerly.

"Well, yeah.. whoever it was, it was definitely a guy."

"Can you describe the voice to us?" Elisa asked.

"Well, it was a normal guy's voice.. I don't understand what you mean," Jamie said, frustrated at the questions.

"Did the voice sound young or old? Rough and deep or light and soft?" Matt persisted.

"Well, it was a deep voice, but it wasn't rough," Jamie said quietly, squinting her eyes as she tried to remember. "It was kind of soft.. argh! It just sounded like a person who really needed help, like they were harmless!" Jamie stated quietly as she rubbed her eyes.

"It's okay, don't worry about it," Elisa reassured as she patted the girl's shoulder. "Let's keep going.. what happened after that?"

"Well, I debated about whether or not to ignore it and keep going, but something inside me told me that I just couldn't leave that poor person alone. Some instincts I have," she muttered bitterly.

"No, that just shows that you have a good heart.. your intentions were right: you wanted to help someone that was in need. The only problem is that most times in New York, it usually is better to ignore stuff... especially when you're all alone at night," Matt disagreed. Personally, he wished that more people would ignore the inner warning bells and come to other people's aid. All to often it was the case in their great city that people would just walk by someone who was getting mugged or killed and act as though nothing was happening. Such was the life of a New Yorker. If they had more people like Jamie Peterson in the city, it sure wouldn't be as brutal as it was. Then again, look what her involvement got her. Shaking his head, he quickly said, "Then what happened?"

"I decided to help the person out, so I entered the alley looking for the person, but all I saw was a shadow before.. well, before I woke up in here," Jamie replied, gesturing to her surroundings.

"Hmm," Matt replied thoughtfully, casting a glance at Elisa. "I don't suppose you could describe the form of the person."

"Well, the shadow was tall.. about your height," she said, pointing at Matt, "with your build and form.. I think. Like I said, it was awfully dark. I'm sorry that I can't be of any more help."

"Not at all.. you can't even imagine the help you've given us with just that little bit. At least now we know that our guy is male, about six feet, and about 180 lbs. You have helped out," Matt reassured the girl.

Smiling, Jamie nodded her thanks. "Uh, Jamie.. one more question," Elisa broke in as she tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Did he say anything to you that you can remember?"

"Hmm.. no.. oh, wait a minute!" Jamie cried out quickly as a light dawned in her eyes. "Now I remember... right before he grabbed me and pulled me the rest of the way into the alley, he said something like, 'maybe you're the one for me.' I think.." Jamie trailed off. "Then I felt a prick in my neck and woke up here."

"Interesting," Elisa murmured as Matt scribbled furiously on his note pad. "Well, I think that's all for now. Thanks Jamie!"

"No problem, I just wish I could've been more help to you guys," Jamie called to their departing backs.

Waving goodbye, the two detectives quickly walked through the door and closed it behind them. "Hmm, 'maybe you're the one for me?' What do you think of that?" Elisa mused quietly before starting down the hallway to the exit. When she noticed her partner wasn't following, she turned in confusion and saw that he was still standing in front of Jamie's door, a worried look on his face. "What's wrong?"

"Where are Morgan and Riley?" Matt asked as he looked around the deserted hallway.

"Good question. It's not like them to abandon their post," Elisa agreed as she looked around. "Hey, there's a light on over there.. wait here while I go see if anyone's seen them," Elisa said as she started moving down the hallway to a room halfway down the hall. There was a light on inside and the door was ajar, meaning that there had to be someone inside. "Hello?" Elisa called out quietly as she walked up to the door. Pushing the door the rest of the way open, Elisa walked into the brightly lit room and waited a minute for her eyes to adjust. From all appearances, it looked as though the room was some sort of lab, with stainless steel counters dividing the room into parts. "Hello?" she called out again as she began walking around one of the counters. "Oh no!" Elisa gasped at the sight before her. Laying on the floor, hidden by the tall steel counter was Morgan and Riley, both crumpled on the floor. Moving quickly, Elisa quickly drew her gun and moved next to the fallen police officers. While keeping her eyes open and looking for signs of danger, Elisa felt for a pulse, and was relieved when she found a strong heart beat on both men. From first glance and the small amount of blood on the floor, it looked as though the officers had been hit in the head with an object. Assured that they would be fine, Elisa quickly hurried back to Matt.

"Did you find anyone?" Matt asked from his watch at the door.

"Yeah, Morgan and Riley unconscious on the floor," Elisa replied grimly as she shoved Matt aside. "Come on, let's make sure Jamie's alright," Elisa said quickly as she turned the knob.. and turned it again. "Matt, it won't open!" Elisa cried out as she pushed her weight against the door.

"What do you mean it won't open?!" Matt asked as he shoved Elisa aside and tried the knob himself--still to no avail.

"Jamie! Open the door!" Elisa called out frantically. There was no answer.

"Come on, we have to get the door open!" Matt called as he began to head over to another locked door. "We need to find some keys!"

"But Matt, it's not locked.. something's blocking it!" Elisa called out as she began throwing her shoulder against the door. "Help me out!"

Nodding in agreement, Matt quickly stood next to Elisa and said, "On the count of three... one.. two... three..." on three, like planned, the partners quickly charged the door and threw the full weight against the door using their shoulders. Groaning, they then fell to the ground, both holding their shoulders in pain, the door still firmly shut.

"Try again," Elisa panted as she got to her feet. "Ready? One... two... three!" Elisa yelled as they both charged the door. This time the door creaked open as they neared the door. Startled, they both tried to stop, but their momentum was too much as they ran right into the room and stumbled to the floor. Gasping, Elisa quickly got to her feet and rushed to Jamie's bedside. Right away she noticed three things. 1) the room was cold, caused by an open window with snow billowing in. 2) Jamie wasn't moving. And 3) her skin was a light grayish color. "Jamie?" Elisa called out frantically. Quickly she picked up Jamie's wrist and felt for a pulse. The skin was cold and she found none. "She's dead," Elisa said in disbelief as she stared wide eyed at Matt.

"Look," was Matt's only response as he pointed to two identical puncture wounds in her neck.

"The killer was right here before us... and we let her down.. we let the kid down and now she's dead!" Elisa said in disbelief as she slowly closed the unseeing eyes of the dead girl.

******************************************************************************

Castle Wyvern - Thursday, 10/16/97 4:30 am

Yawning, Elisa trudged slowly down the long hallway till she reached the door at the end. Sighing, Elisa paused a minute to rub the sleep from her eyes before pushing the door open and stepped into the bright room.

"Hey Elisa!" Lexington yelled from his place at the computer. At Lexington's greeting, the rest of the people looked up and waved half heartedly before going back to what they were doing. Angela and Broadway were playing a game of what appeared to be checkers, Brooklyn and Hudson were on the couch watching something on television with Bronx at their feet, and Goliath was sitting on an armchair in the corner of the room trying in vain to read over the noise.

"Hey guys!" Elisa murmured sleepily as she stepped further into the room.

"Elisa, are you off already?" Goliath asked as he got up and moved across the room to meet her.

"Yeah.. we had a break of sorts in the case got done early," Elisa muttered, her expression going dark. At mention of the case, all eyes and ears quickly focused on her.

Quickly Hudson turned off the t.v. with the remote he always kept at hand and turned to face Elisa. "Tell us lass, how is the 'vampire' case coming?"

"Yeah, have you found a vampire yet?" Lexington asked in a childish exuberance.

"No.. but you remember the fifteen year old girl that was attacked the other night and hospitalized?" Elisa asked, raising her eyebrow in her characteristic fashion.

"Yeah, you found her outside a restaurant in an alley, right?" Brooklyn supplied.

"Right..."

"Were you able to find out what happened and get a description last night?" Broadway broke in excitedly. He loved this kind of stuff.

"If you would give her a chance to finish Broadway, I'm sure we'll find out," Angela gently admonished the big gargoyle. Mumbling his apology, Elisa quickly nodded and continued.

"No, we weren't able to get anything last night. When we stopped by last night, she was so drugged up that we couldn't talk to her. Anyway, we stopped by again earlier this evening. We had two cops guarding the door outside, Morgan and a rookie by the name of Riley. In any case, we went in and talked to her. Her name was Jamie Peterson.. really sweet girl," Elisa mumbled, getting a far away look in her eyes.

"Why do you keep saying was?" Goliath questioned, missing nothing.

"After we finished talking to her, we went out in the hallway, and Matt noticed that Morgan and Riley weren't at their post," Elisa continued, ignoring Goliath's question for now. "While Matt stayed by the door, I went down the hallway a little and found them both unconscious in a lab. We then tried to get in the room, but something must have been holding it shut from the inside, cause we couldn't budge it. Finally, the door suddenly opened and we rushed inside- the room was empty except for an open window, and Jamie was dead, completely drained of blood with two puncture wounds on her neck," Elisa finished as she looked down at the floor.

"What?!" everyone gasped in shock.

"That poor girl," Angela murmured as she turned away from the group.

"Are Morgan and Riley..." Goliath asked quietly.

"They're fine. Morgan said that the door down the hall opened suddenly and that they heard a soft male voice calling for help. Worried, Morgan quickly went to check it out. All he remembers is going into the room and then waking up while being examined by a doctor after we found him. Apparently when Morgan didn't answer to his calls or come back out, Riley got nervous and went to check it out and got the same treatment."

"That's all they saw?" Lexington asked in disbelief.

"Apparently," Elisa murmured as she tried to wipe the sleep from her eyes.

"What do you want us t' do lass?" Hudson asked as he lay a hand on her shoulder. It was easy for the warrior to see that the young girl's death had a serious effect on Elisa.

"Just what you have been doing.. keep your eyes and ears open on patrol.. and please don't go out gliding alone- especially you Angela," Elisa instructed firmly. "So far his targets have been human females, but I don't want to take any chances."

"I understand, Elisa," Angela answered quietly as both Brooklyn and Broadway took an unconscious step towards their friend.

"Good. Now I have to get home.. I'm bushed," Elisa admitted as she turned and started back towards the door and the long hallways that would lead her to the Great Hall. Ever since their return to the castle, the clan could easily be found in the large recreation room that Xanatos so kindly donated to the clan.. along with the library and kitchen.

As Elisa left the room, she noticed Goliath follow her out. "Are you alright Elisa?" he asked quietly as they began walking down the dimly lit hallway together.

"Yeah, just tired," Elisa said as a huge yawn over took her.

"So I noticed," Goliath said with a smile. Turning serious, he then stopped walking and gently forced Elisa to stop as well and face him. Pulling her face up to meet his stare with his talons gently, Goliath said, "Her death wasn't your fault."

"I know.. but I just wish that there was something I could have done to prevent it.. she was so young!" Elisa said quietly, the venom evident in her voice as she tore her face away from Goliath's hand and looked to the ground in shame. "Goliath, when I first entered the room, she thanked me for saving her life.. and then what do I do? I let her die!"

"You didn't let her die!" Goliath interjected fiercely, recapturing her face in his hand. Sighing, Goliath drew the tired detective into his embrace and held her gently. "Elisa, there's nothing you could have done to save her.. you tried your best."

"I know Goliath.. but she's still dead," Elisa whispered as she laid her face against Goliath's smooth chest, a single tear escaping down her cheek. If only she could stay right there forever.. forever safe in Goliath's sheltered embrace... but she couldn't. She was a detective in the NYPD, and no matter what life throws at them, it was their job to pick up the slack. And it was her job to find whatever bastard killed the poor girl that was supposed to be under their protection. "I gotta go home and get some rest," Elisa mumbled quietly as she stepped out of Goliath's embrace and started walking down the dimly lit hallway, not giving Goliath a backwards glance and letting him see her tear.

Knowing that it would be pointless to suggest a room at the castle, Goliath watched Elisa go. "Get some rest my friend," he whispered to her departing back.

******************************************************************************

Elisa's apartment - 5:20 am

Yawning, Elisa finished running the brush through her long dark hair before turning off the light in her bathroom and entered her bedroom. ~God, I don't know why I'm so tired~ Elisa thought to herself as she pulled back the covers of her bed, it's cool sheets looking very inviting. Smiling a sleepy smile, Elisa straightened her pale blue tee shirt over her green and blue boxer shorts and started to climb into bed. Suddenly, Elisa's tired ears heard a noise in the living room. "I know that sound too well," Elisa mumbled once more as she turned away from the bed, casting a longing glance behind her as she headed towards the door to her room. The sound was one common around her place: the sky light creaking open. "Goliath, I told you already, I'm fine! I just need some sleep!" Elisa called out as she stumbled into the room. When she received no answer, Elisa quickly fumbled around for a light switch. "Goliath?" Elisa asked again as her eyes adjusted to the brightness of the room.

"Who's Goliath?"

"What? Who are you?" Elisa asked quickly as she saw a dark figure standing by the open   
skylight. Suddenly, comprehension dawned in her eyes as her memories returned. "Krishna?"

"Ah.. I see that with you my pet, all memories will come back after seeing me again," Krishna said quietly, a smile lighting up his face. If anything, this proved to him more than anything that she was 'the one.' After all, no other mortal ever had their memories of their time together return.. then again, no other mortal had lived after Krishna's first encounter with them.

"What do you want?" Elisa asked slowly as she began back slowly towards her bedroom, the flimsy lock her only chance at safety.

"In order for you to fully join me in the night, my love, I need to first drain you over a   
long period of time... a sip a night is what the doctors ordered."

"I don't think so!" Elisa yelled as she turned and quickly ran back down the hallway into her room, where she slammed the door quickly in his face and locked it behind her. Backing away, Elisa knew that she was trapped, and that there was nothing she could really do to prevent the inevitable.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk.. to think you would have learned from our first encounter last night... there is nothing that you can do to prevent this," Krishna said from the other side of the door.

To Elisa's amazement and fear, she watched from across the room as the lock on the door slowly twisted open. Looking around, Elisa searched desperately for a weapon of some sort. Rushing over to her dresser, Elisa saw the only plausible weapon: a sharp pencil. Laughing over the irony of the situation, Elisa quickly hid the pencil behind her and waited. Backing once more till she was standing against the far wall, Elisa watched in fear as the door opened, seemingly of its own will, as Krishna entered the room.

"Now my lovely," Krishna said as he slowly advanced on Elisa, "who is this Goliath you mentioned?"

"Goliath?" Elisa asked, thinking quickly. "That's my cat.."

"Why were you calling to your cat?" Krishna asked in disbelief.

"I thought that he was causing a mess out there because he wanted to be fed," Elisa said, trying to remain calm.

"I see.."

~Yes, he bought it!~ Elisa thought quickly. Still, better to be safe than sorry, Elisa decided as she quickly changed the subject. "I thought you couldn't enter a house until the person invited you in!" Elisa accused.

Waving his hand in a dismissive gesture, Krishna slowly began advancing on Elisa. "A fairy tale, but in any case, you already invited me into your home.."

"What?!" Elisa asked in disbelief, tightening her hold on the pencil that was hidden behind her. "And when was this?"

"Last night.. how else was I supposed to bring you home?"

"But I don't remember..." Elisa started to protest weakly.

"Of course you don't remember.. you were slightly delirious at the time," Krishna chuckled quietly.

"That's unfair!"

"Nothing is ever fair in life Elisa.. even for the innocent," Krishna murmured, a far away look entering his gaze.

At the mention of innocents, a sort of recognition came into Elisa's eyes. "It was you.. it was you! You killed Jamie Peterson!" Elisa screamed, all fear gone, replaced instead with blinding anger.

"Jamie who?" Krishna asked, stopping his slow, deliberate walk across the room to stare at her in confusion.

"You didn't even know her name!" Elisa accused. "Jamie Peterson is the fifteen year old girl you murdered earlier tonight at the hospital! You bastard! She was only a child!" Elisa screamed, small tears boiling up in her eyes.

At the harsh words, Krishna merely flinched once before a cold, calculating look crossed his face. "She had to die... she may have saw something and told the police details about me that were not to be made public knowledge."

"She didn't see a thing!" Elisa screamed before charging Krishna. Confused, Krishna watched Elisa charge, not realizing the small weapon she was carrying. Moving quickly, Elisa stabbed the sharp pencil into Krishna's side, smiling in satisfaction as she buried the wood all the way into his side till just the pink eraser remained to be seen.

Roaring in agony, Krishna reacted on instinct and slapped Elisa hard across the face, sending her flying across the room and into the far wall, her head crashing against the surface. Calming, Krishna reached down with shaking hands to slowly pull the pencil out of his bleeding flesh and threw it on the ground. His eyes glowing a pale white, Krishna made an effort to control his bleeding as he quickly left Elisa and went in the bathroom to find something to staunch the bleeding.

Cursing, Krishna walked back into the room, his hand holding a white rag to his bleeding side- already the bleeding was slowing. Looking around, Krishna saw that Elisa was still laying where he had thrown her. Smiling sadly, all thoughts of his wounds disappeared from his mind as he walked over to her still body. Trying his best to be gentle, Krishna lifted the sleeping beauty into his arms. Moaning, Elisa slowly stirred. "You're a goddess," Krishna murmured as he looked down at the creature he was holding. Her long black hair was brushed till it shone and her long tan legs were the definition of perfection.. if he just ignored the darkening bruise that was forming on her forehead, she would be perfection. Sighing, Krishna gently lowered his Elisa onto the bed and then leaned over her.

By now Elisa was awake, although trying her best to fight a growing headache and was still trying to regain her senses. "What..." Elisa mumbled as her eyes fluttered open. As she focused in on Krishna, confusion entered her still blurred eyes. "Aw man, you're still here?" Elisa slurred. "Listen.. can we finish this later? I have a headache," she mumbled as she let her eyes close.

Laughing at the tired remark, Krishna reached forward and slapped Elisa's face lightly. As her eyes snapped open at the sharp sting, Elisa quickly focused in on Krishna, wide awake now. "While that excuse may usually be enough to satisfy humans, it hardly works for me!" Krishna laughed.

"Fuck off!" she retorted, her gaze fiery as she tried to sit up from her bed. Not to her surprise, Krishna quickly stopped that by pinning her arms above her head.

"My, you really do have quite a... let's see, how is it said these days? Potty mouth?" Krishna said, laughing quietly. "Now, you injured me- why?"

"Don't you even have a conscience?!" Elisa shouted in response. "You killed an innocent 15-year old girl.. she was a child!"

"Like I said, I couldn't have her remembering any details and slipping them to you and your partner," Krishna replied in a detached voice.

"She didn't remember anything!"

"What?" Krishna asked in confusion.

"Listen asshole, whatever you did to her, it wiped her memories clean! The only thing she saw or heard was a man of average height asking for help in a dark alley. It was too dark for her to see anything else! We had already questioned her by the time you attacked... she didn't know anything and you just killed a child in cold blood!"

"But..."

"She didn't know a thing!" Elisa said, stressing each word.

Shaking his head, Krishna knew she was right. Never in his long life had he ever killed a child without reason.. never. And now, he just did. Cursing himself and his dark existence, Krishna realized for the first time what he had done his whole life: killed innocents just so he could survive his lonely existence. But no more. With his eternal love, Elisa, by his side, Krishna would no longer kill out of anger, but instead be content to feed only enough to satisfy the thirst and then lead a quiet and happy existence with her. "I vow to you that she will be the last innocent to die by my hand," Krishna vowed, his face completely seriousness. "On our love and our eternal life, I promise this to you."

"First of all, what love would you be referring to?" Elisa bit back, her face a mask of hate. "And second of all, why should I take your word? Also, I am *not* a part of your filthy blood sucking race yet, and I don't plan to be!" Elisa yelled, hurling insult after insult to him.

"We shall see," was Krishna's simple reply. "If I keep taking your blood from you nightly, you will weaken over time till you become nothing but a tired and pale shell of your older self, each night waking with no memories of the drainage or my existence until I reappear the following. In a month's time, the night will come when I finally take your last drop, leaving your body with nothing, until I open my veins to you and you drink..."

"Then I won't drink!" Elisa quickly replied, her mind going a mile a minute. "I would rather die!"

"Can't you feel it already? Each night you grow weaker.. when the time comes, you won't be able to fight me."

"No.. but, my friends and I will find the marks and we'll know what's happening!" Elisa denied.

"Your 'friends' would believe in a vampire without ever having seeing one? They'd sooner believe that you're taking drugs in the neck for some reason!" Krishna scoffed.

"Oh, they'd believe me alright.. we've seen far weirder things than you!"

"Somehow, I doubt that. In any case, this argument is pointless, for when I'm finished with you each night, one drop of my blood will do away with any evidence of my drink. Now, if you're done interrogating me, the sun will rise soon, so we must start..."

"No!" Elisa yelled as she began to struggle fiercely.

Ignoring her protests, Krishna leaned forward to sink his long canines into her exposed flesh. Wincing in pain, Elisa closed her eyes briefly at the familiar feeling. In a matter of seconds, the pain changed once more to a feeling of something being pulled out of her, causing her heart to first speed up its beating before slowing as Elisa lost herself in the pleasure of the sensation; pulling Krishna's body closer to her without even realizing it. ~Goliath, help me~ was Elisa's last thought before unconsciousness.

As Elisa's body went limp in Krishna's arms, he slowly withdrew his lips from her neck. "That was.. pleasurable," Krishna whispered breathlessly into the dark room. Smiling a pointed smile, Krishna quickly pricked the thumb of his hand with one of his sharp teeth and dropped a drop of blood onto each of the fang holes in Elisa's neck. Getting up, Krishna adjusted the covers around her shoulders and stepped back to admire his handy work. Already a bit of color was returning to her cheeks and the bruise was rapidly disappearing from her forehead. True, the process was a long one, but it would be well worth it in the end. In the olden days, things were much simpler. Then, a few small puncture wounds in the side of the neck wouldn't get much attention, so the added blood wasn't necessary. In a matter of days, a vampire would be made. Now though, each time he added a drop or two of his blood to hers, the amount he took from her was given half back, allowing all wounds to heal. That meant that he was only getting half the amount of drainage per night he wanted, which explained why the procedure was taking around a month these days. "The prices of modern technology," Krishna muttered as he left the quiet apartment for his hidden home.

******************************************************************************

Castle Wyvern - Friday, 11/7/97 7:03pm

Sighing, Goliath turned and began pacing the battlements the other way. Ever since his awakening a while ago, he had been pacing the outer edge of the castle, trying to come up with a solution to his dilemma. There was something definitely wrong with Elisa, but he had no idea what it was and it was driving him crazy. Right before his eyes, he was loosing Elisa to something completely unknown, and Elisa would hear nothing of his worries. Every night he saw her, Elisa was becoming more and more pale, and more tired with the passing of each night. It wasn't that she wasn't getting enough sleep, for she even admitted it to him two nights ago that if anything, Elisa was sleeping more than ever. His concern was growing. But what to do? Every time he asked how she was feeling or mentioned that he was concerned for her, Elisa got upset and snapped at him, and then usually left soon after. He didn't want to drive her away, yet at the same time, he desperately wanted to help her out.

"Hey Big Guy..." a soft voice called out from behind him.

Turning quickly, Goliath saw that the person who had been crowding his thoughts was standing behind him. "Elisa!" he called out happily, trying in vain to hide his worried frown as he saw Elisa. She looked horrible, as her face was paler than ever with dark bags lining under her eyes. One look at her was enough to show the world that she was exhausted. Purposely avoiding any comments that started out with, "how are you feeling?" Goliath quickly chose another topic. "What are you doing here so early? Aren't you supposed to be working tonight?"

At this question, Elisa's face fell as she looked at the ground. Slapping himself mentally, Goliath walked up to his friend and took her hands gently in his. "What's wrong?"

"Oh Goliath.. you're not the only one who's noticed what's been going on with me. Admit it, I look horrible!" Elisa said bitterly.

"You don't look horrible.. just sick. What is wrong?"

"I don't know Goliath.. I don't know what's wrong with me. All I ever feel these days is tired and more weak. Each night I wake up it's worse. Last night before I left, the Captain confronted me..." Elisa said quietly as a tear formed in her eye.

Shaking his head, Goliath knew what was coming next. "What did she say?"

"She said that she was worried about me and my performance out on the street with Matt. She didn't think I was strong or healthy enough anymore to do my job... she's put me on sick leave till I figure out what's wrong.. mandatory sick leave."

"Maybe that's for the best," Goliath inserted gently.

"No!" Elisa yelled as she quickly took her hands from Goliath's. "How can you say that? I'm not letting this thing get in the way of my job! I'm nothing without being a detective.. and now this thing is taking that away from me!" Elisa yelled, frustrated at his apparent lack of understanding.

Holding up his hands in a defenseless gesture, Goliath stared at Elisa, unsure about how to respond to that. He didn't want to drive her away, but he was treading on fragile soil here.. he didn't know what to say that would comfort her instead of making things worse. "Elisa, I'm sorry," Goliath said simply.

Sighing, Elisa broke out of her fit of anger and looked at Goliath, his eyes pleading for her to understand that he wasn't the enemy here. He was right of course, none of this was Goliath's fault. "Yeah, well so am I," Elisa whispered as her shoulders slumped in defeat.

Trying in vain to break the tense mood, Goliath decided to try a different track. "Have you seen a.. doctor, yet?" Goliath asked, trying the still new word out on his tongue.

Taking a moment for a small smile at his effort, Elisa started in on the next explanation. "Yes.. I just got back from the appointment as a matter of a fact. The guy said that he has no idea what's wrong with me and thought that it may be exhaustion or something similar. Gee, like I couldn't have told him that," Elisa laughed bitterly. Goliath had to agree there, it was even obvious to him that she was constantly tired, despite the amount of sleep she was already getting. "Dr. Fieldstone said that it sounded like sleep deprivation, and that even though I may be getting normal to even more amounts of sleep every day, I was only sleeping on the first, light level. It's something to do with that whenever I get into a deep sleep, the kind that everyone needs, my brain starts getting low on oxygen and wakes up my body, without consciously realizing that I was awake. This cycle continues and I end up waking up hundreds to thousands of times a night, pretty much ensuring that the only real sleep I get is about an hours worth," Elisa explained. At Goliath's blank stare, she quickly put in, "Kind of complicated, I know."

"So, did this Doctor Fieldstone give you a cure for this sleep dep-ri-va-tion?" Goliath asked slowly.

"No, not until he's sure of it.. instead I got stuck with needles as they drew blood to try all sorts of tests out on me. I should get the results back in a couple of days."

"I see..." Goliath said slowly. "Until then, what were you going to do?"

"Well.. try and get some sleep I guess, I'm exhausted," Elisa said, completely missing the fall of Goliath's face.

"Yes, that would be best," Goliath agreed halfheartedly. "Are you going to leave now?"

"Yeah, I better get going before I fall asleep behind the wheel," Elisa smirked as she started stumbling away from her friend.

Watching her swaying steps and her tired eyes, Goliath realized quickly that this wasn't   
the best thing to do. "Elisa, wait," he called out as he ran to her side and helped to support her.

"What?" Elisa asked, silently grateful at the support.

"Why don't I give you a lift back to your apartment?"

"But my car..." Elisa started to object, although the thought of snuggling in Goliath's warm arms as he carried her over the city was certainly appealing.

"I'll have Lexington telephone Matt at the station and he can be dropped of here after work, and then leave the car at your apartment."

"But..."

"Please?" Goliath asked, lowering his eyes to look in her own dark brown ones.

"Ah, fine," Elisa sighed.

Nodding in satisfaction, Goliath realized how tired Elisa must be if she gave in so easily to something that may show weakness on her end, something she never did. Bending lower still, Goliath quickly scooped Elisa up into his arms and walked to the edge of the castle before jumping off the stone barricade and into the night sky. Within a couple of minutes, Goliath glanced down at his load and was surprised to see her fast asleep in his embrace, bringing a small smile to his lips. Continuing on to Elisa's apartment, Goliath landed gently on the small roof and then opened her skylight, allowing him into her darkened apartment. Trying to be quiet, Goliath moved to the back of her apartment and to her bedroom. Sighing, he lowered his cargo gently onto her bed. Try as he may to prevent it, Elisa was still awakened by the slow movements.

"Hmm, we're here?" Elisa asked as she tried to rub the sleep from her eyes.

"Yes.." Goliath said uncomfortably from his position by her bed.

"Oh God, I slept the whole way?" Elisa asked in embarrassment as she woke up more and climbed up from the bed to stand beside him. "Goliath, I'm sorry," she said sheepishly, mad at her lack of control over this.

"Don't worry Elisa, I understand," Goliath said gently as he took her hand in his.

"Yeah.. well.. uh," Elisa stuttered as she looked at his caring eyes. Finally breaking the gaze, Elisa slowly stumbled past Goliath. "Well, I better get changed.. um, talk to you tomorrow night?" she asked hopefully.

"I will be waiting," Goliath promised as he caught her subtle hint and left the room. Making sure to lock the skylight behind him, Goliath quickly hopped from the balcony into the dark night sky.

******************************************************************************

Elisa's apartment - Saturday, 11/8/97 4:30 am

Groaning, Elisa shifted in her comfortable bed and opened her eyes slowly. ~Now what?~ she thought sleepily as she raised her elbows behind her so she could stare into the gloom of the room. "Well, something woke me up," Elisa muttered as she strained her ears to listen to the quiet apartment. A sudden shuffling from the other side of her bedroom door caused Elisa to become awake instantly. Inching up slowly, Elisa slowly pulled her covers aside and slipped her long bare legs over the side of the bed and came to her feet. Before she could move anywhere, the door creaked open and a hand turned on her light switch. Blinking at the dim light from the lamp beside her, Elisa looked at the open door. "Krishna!" she gasped as, like every night for the past three weeks or so, all of her memories returned. "Ah man, not you again," Elisa whispered as she tried to move away from the bed, searching for any sort of a weapon.

"Good morning my love," Krishna replied, his eyes glinting off of his pale skin and black silk shirt. "I trust you slept well?"

"All I do is sleep now a days.. all thanks to you!" she retorted as she began moving. As Krishna advanced, Elisa realized with dismay that there would be no impressive fight tonight and none of her wounding him.. she was just too weak. Every night she fought less as her energy was drained. Tonight, it took most of her energy just to stay standing. Still, she was a fighter, always had been and always would.

"I warned you of this," Krishna said simply as he moved forward quickly and pushed her onto the bed. To his amazement, Elisa actually tried to resist him and push back. "Still fighting the inevitable, huh?"

"I'll fight you till my death!" Elisa hissed as she struggled in vain. In vain because try as she might, she couldn't move a muscle.

"Ah, my poor Elisa," Krishna whispered as he began stroking her cheek gently. "Always a fighter, even when the fight is hopeless. Don't you know by now that your mine? I know everything about you, from your likes, to your dislikes, to your greatest secrets.. you tell me all."

~Not everything~ Elisa thought to herself triumphantly. Throughout everything, Krishna had not yet learned of the gargoyles existence.. and she wouldn't be the one to tell either, for that was one secret she would take to her grave... or beyond. Suddenly Elisa's ears perked at the sound of a key scraping gently in her door. ~Matt~ Elisa thought quietly to himself. ~Did Krishna hear? If not, then there's hope~ Looking at Krishna's evil smirk, Elisa realized quickly that he was too caught up in his horrid fantasies to have heard the scrape. ~Matt must be dropping off the keys to my car, and he doesn't want to wake me~ Elisa thought quickly. ~I have to let him know not to give himself away, but also make sure that Krishna doesn't hear him!! Matt's my only hope at stopping this cycle and making me remember!~

* * * * *

Sighing, Matt trudged slowly up the long flight of stairs to Elisa's apartment, her car keys held tightly in his hand. When he received the call from Lexington, he was surprised to say the least- still, it made sense. Better for Goliath to fly--glide, he automatically corrected himself--home than for her to fall asleep behind the wheel. All things said and done, Matt was worried sick about his partner. True, he knew that she was pissed at the captain's mandatory sick leave, but if it meant her getting back to normal, it was well worth it. When he reached her apartment, he was faced with a quick decision... either leave the keys under the mat, or use her house key to let himself in and leave them on the counter where she'd find them. Opting for the last, Matt slid the keys in the whole, cringing at the scrape of metal, and then quietly let himself into her dark apartment. To his surprise, he saw a faint glow coming from her bedroom. Shrugging his   
shoulders, Matt quietly laid the keys on the counter and was about to leave when he heard Elisa's voice speak loudly from within the room. ~What, is she talking in her sleep now?~ he wondered as he paused to listen. "Krishna! Why did you stop your senseless killing of those girls, draining them of their blood!?" he heard Elisa hiss loudly, her voice fierce. Now that made him pause.. even more so when he heard an unfamiliar male voice respond. "We've already discussed this," the male responded, his deep velvety voice completely unfamiliar to Matt. "I no longer need to kill them to survive.. I've found the one I've been looking for, and you're her. Any day now, with a few more nights of this, you'll be mine for eternity."

~Whoa!~ Matt thought as he withdrew his gun from his holster. He had no idea what in the hell was going on in Elisa's bedroom, but from the sound of it and Elisa's pitch of voice, he knew that it was serious and that his partner needed his help, and now. Even more so, it also seemed as though Elisa was aware of his presence.. and that he better ensure that this Krishna character didn't learn of him as well. Making sure that his breathing was shallow so it wouldn't be noticeable, Matt slowly eased down the dark hallway to the slightly ajar door of the bedroom, his eyes adjusting to the light, and his gun drawn and ready. As he moved forward, Matt tried to listen to their conversation. Already he had a growing suspicion as to who this creep was.. he was their serial killer, and he was in Elisa's apartment with her.. even worse, it seemed as though this wasn't a first time meeting for Elisa and Krishna. "We've already discussed this before." Thinking back on Krishna's words, he realized that indeed Elisa and the killer had met before this.. which made him wonder why Elisa never said anything before. ~Gotta be a conspiracy with Elisa stuck in the middle~ he thought to himself. ~Always a conspiracy to be found.. always~

Suddenly Matt heard Krishna's deep voice break into Elisa's mumbled words. "Enough of this... I grow tired and the sun will rise soon. Let's finish up here so I can be home by sun rise and so you can get back to your sleep." Not liking the sound of that, Matt began to walk quicker as he heard a struggle from beyond the door, and then Elisa cry out and lapse into silence. Fearing for her life, Matt gave up all abandon and pushed the door open, astonished at the sight that welcomed him. There was Elisa laying in the middle of her bed in boxers and a tee shirt with a strange guy straddling over her. The guy was dressed all in black with black hair cascading down his shoulders... and he had his mouth pressed to Elisa's neck, a small drop of blood trailing down the dark skin of her neck.

"NO!" Matt yelled as he raised his pistol and fired twice into the back of the guy, sending him falling forward and sideways off of Elisa. As Matt watched in amazement, the guy rolled with the force of the shot right off of the bed and then turned to face Matt.. what was even worse was that the man's eyes were glowing a dark red and he had long fangs covered in blood, Elisa's blood. "Oh shit," Matt muttered as the thing began to charge. Raising his gun, Matt fired three more shots, all hitting the thing in the chest before it reached Matt. With one long swipe of his hand, the *thing* sent Matt flying back into the wall where his head hit the plaster hard, sending him sprawling to the floor. As Matt blinked away the stars, he watched as the thing then ran from the room and then heard the sound of shattering glass. Groaning, Matt slowly picked himself off of the ground, putting one hand to his aching head as he stumbled over to Elisa's bed side. "Elisa?" he asked weakly as he fell on his knees beside her.

Sighing in relief, he watched as she weakly turned her head to face Matt and said, "Thanks partner..." before her eyes fluttered shut.

Fear gripping his soul, Matt reached out a shaking hand and laid it against the side of her neck that wasn't bleeding and marred by two puncture holes. To his great relief, he felt a slow but steady pulse. "Just sleeping," he slurred as he tried to stumble to his feet. Swaying, he quickly fell right back to the ground. "Ouch," he mumbled. "Good idea," he slurred to Elisa's sleeping form as he managed to pull himself up right and moved till he was standing on the opposite side of the bed. As the sun peeked over the horizon, the aching detective fell onto the bed beside Elisa, not able to battle the sleep that was threatening him any longer. As he drifted off to sleep that was much like death, he mumbled, "Must have hit th' head harder than I thought..."

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Elisa's apartment - 6:20pm

Blinking at the dying light of the sun, Elisa closed her eyes and tried to snuggle further down in the warmth of the arms cradled around her... ~arms cradled around me?~ Elisa thought in amazement. Bolting wide awake, Elisa slowly looked down. She was laying on her side on her bed like usual, in her boxers and tee, but there was a pair of arms wrapped tightly around her and a warm body pressed up against her backside, his warm breath blowing lightly against her neck. Moving slowly, Elisa gently reached out her hand and slid the arms out from around her and then slid off of the bed. Standing slowly, exhaustion threatening to overcome her, Elisa turned to see who exactly she had been sleeping with. To her amazement, Matt was laying on the bed--pants, shoes, shirt, trench coat and all. "Matt?" Elisa whispered in amazement. Not wanting to wake him, Elisa reached out a hand to scratch something itchy on her neck as she tried to remember exactly what happened the night before. "Ouch!" she cried out as her fingers touched her neck. Taking them away, she stared in wide eyes amazement at the small bit of blood on her fingers. Swaying, suddenly dizzy, Elisa grabbed a hold of the wall before she began to slowly head for the bathroom. Turning on the light, Elisa looked into the mirror, shocked at what she saw. One whole side of her neck along with the neck of her tee shirt was covered in dry, cracked blood, while a small portion of wet blood dripped over it all. Grimacing, Elisa quickly grabbed a wash rag and gingerly wiped the blood layering away till she uncovered two very sore puncture wounds in her neck. With that discovery all of her memories of last night returned.. along with those of the past month or so. ~I remember!~ Elisa though jubilantly. Nodding her head in amazement, Elisa realized that Krishna hadn't had a chance to make her forget and make the marks disappear because Matt.. interrupted.. them... "Oh God, Matt!" Elisa whispered in horror as she barely remembered his stumbling to her bedside after his head ricocheted off the wall. Turning, Elisa stumbled weakly out of the bathroom and dropped beside Matt on the floor. Frustrated, she saw that he was laying on his stomach; trying to be gentle, Elisa shoved Matt till he rolled over onto his back. Hissing, Elisa sat back onto her heels when she saw the huge purple lump on his forehead. "Matt?" she whispered softly as she shook his shoulders gently.

"Hmm.. go bed now," Matt sighed as he rolled over till his back was facing her.

Sighing, Elisa decided to try again. "Matt, wake up," she insisted as she shook his shoulders gently.

"Leave me alone.. want to sleep now," Matt groaned, still half asleep.

Suddenly inspiration hit. "Matt! UFO's, aliens.. it's the Illuminati!"

"What?! Where!!" Matt yelled as he bolted awake and stared around the room with wide eyes. Instantly his eyes clouded as he groaned and fell back on the bed. "Ouch," he muttered as he brought a hand up to his forehead and felt the lump gingerly. "What'd you do that for?" he asked as he glanced at Elisa.

"You sure don't look so hot.. Are you alright?" she asked quickly.

"My head hurts.. what happened?"

"You don't remember last night?" she asked in concern, her almond eyes filled with concern.

"No... hey, what am I doing in your apartment... on your bed?!"

"Calm down Matt.. geez, in your dreams," Elisa muttered rolling her eyes. "I take it that you're better now?"

"Yeah but... hey, what happened?" he asked in concern as he saw the two puncture wounds in her neck. Reaching forward he gently touched the outline with the tips of his fingers.

"You still don't remember?"

"Well.. you didn't come in and Lexington told me to drop of the keys.. and then... hey, the guy with the glowing eyes and fangs.." Matt trailed off. "Uh.. that happened, didn't it?"

"Yes Matt," Elisa sighed as she got up from beside him and stumbled into the bathroom.

"You know, you don't look so hot yourself," he mumbled as he got slowly to his feet and followed her into the hallway. As she closed and locked the bathroom door behind her, Matt took the hint and walked slowly into the living room and plopped down onto her couch. Groaning, he slid back till he was laying full on the comfortable chair, a tired hand placed on his throbbing head. Time passed and Matt was waken out of his reverie when something cold was pressed against his forehead. Snapping his eyes open, Matt was relieved to see Elisa's concerned face hovering over him.

"Here, hold this on it and hopefully the swelling will go down," she said gently.

Reaching his hand up, he found that she had placed an cold compress on his aching forehead. Smiling gratefully, Matt slowly sat up and looked at Elisa. He must have fallen back asleep cause now Elisa was dressed in her usual attire, her black hair damp from a recent shower. "Got any..." he asked hopefully, startled when Elisa reached behind her and pulled out a glass of water and two tiny pills.

"Hurry up and take this then let's get out of here," Elisa instructed as she went about the normalities of turning off all of the lights.

"Where we heading?" Matt asked after he gulped down the two pills.

"To the castle... I don't think it would be wise if we hung around here any longer and you have to be at work in a couple of hours..." Elisa muttered as she opened the door and urged Matt to hurry up.

"Wait," Matt said as he paused in the door frame. "Don't you need to get your gun out from your locked box?"

"How easily you forget," Elisa murmured as a pained expression crossed her face. "Captain took my gun away yesterday when she put me on forced sick leave.. meaning no badge or the protection of a gun.. not that it would offer much against Krishna."

"Oh yeah.. sorry," Matt said sheepishly as the door closed behind him. "And don't worry.. I think I'm calling in sick today," he complained as they trudged down the stairs.

As soon as they were safe in Elisa's car, Matt settled his aching head back against the seat, his eyes closed tightly and the cold compress held tightly to his forehead. Yawning, Elisa pulled the door shut and started up her car and then merged into traffic. "Ya know," Matt said from beside her, breaking the silence that had settled over the car, "neither of us are really in any condition to be driving.. I mean, my head is killing me and I can't see straight, while you look as though you're about to fall asleep."

"I know.. each night I wake up even more tired then the one before," Elisa admitted. "Still, we need to get to the castle."

"Speaking of which.. are you going to tell me what's going on yet?" he asked as some of the pain medication kicked in, clearing his head a little.

"I can't believe that you waited this long to ask!" Elisa laughed as she concentrated on the busy streets.

"Hey, I'm injured!" Matt protested.

"Yeah, well since it's waited this long, you can wait a little longer. I don't want to have to go through this twice, so you'll have to wait till I can tell the whole clan."

"If I didn't have such a headache, I'd be arguing right now," Matt groaned as he closed his eyes and leaned back against his seat, content to let his partner drive and worry about things for once.

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Castle Wyvern- 7:00pm

Sighing, Goliath put down the book he had been holding for the last twenty minutes, admitting to himself that he just couldn't concentrate on it tonight... pretty obvious since he was still on the same page. Getting up from his perch on the ladder in a corner of the quiet library, Goliath slowly paced back and forth across the room. What to do about Elisa? Something was definitely wrong and it was really worrying him. He hoped that the doctor was right and that it was just a medical problem, but his instincts were telling him that it was something else.. something decidedly sinister. But what? Elisa seemed to be telling the truth when she said she had no idea what was going on; she didn't even have a reason to lie to them. Growling softly in frustration, Goliath left the confines of the library and walked down the dimly lit hall towards the television room that Xanatos so generously donated to the clan. As he drew closer, the voices of his clan drifted out.

"Elisa! Matt! What are you guys doing here?" he heard Angela's soft voice call out. Elisa was here? Picking up his pace, he rounded another corner of the hallway just in time to hear Lexington's cry.

"Hey Matt, what happened to you? Man, that's a nasty bump on your head!"

Curious, Goliath turned the last corner in the hallway and entered the room just in time to hear Matt's reply. "I had an unfriendly encounter with a wall." Looking closely, Goliath saw that Lexington was right. Matt's eyes seemed a little unfocused and he had a large purple bump on his right temple. Turning, he saw Elisa standing slightly behind him. She looked even worse, with her face paler than last night and one hand touching the wall for support.

"Elisa?" Goliath asked as he moved into the room. Just as he called out her name her hand slipped from the wall and she started falling to the floor. Moving with a speed that belied his size, Goliath quickly reached her side and caught her before she hit the ground.

"Thanks," Elisa sighed as Goliath turned and helped her over to one of the large armchairs. Sighing, she eased herself into the comfy chair and leaned back against the head rest, her eyes closing briefly.

Turning in confusion, Goliath saw that Hudson, after seeing Matt's condition, quickly gave up the couch to the detective, and that Matt was now sprawled out with his head supported on the rest. Looking around, he saw that the rest of the clan was staring at the two detectives in confusion.

"Okay.. I'll ask again. What on Earth happened to you two?" Lexington asked in concern as he looked from Elisa to Matt, and then to Goliath.

"I'll tell you guys what happened.. but first you may want to go get Owen or Xanatos and have Matt's head looked at. He should probably go to the hospital, but it wouldn't be safe there," Elisa muttered as she opened her eyes and stared at her friends.

"Aw, I'm fine," Matt groaned from the couch.

"Yeah right.. I saw as you hit that wall, and you hit it hard," Elisa muttered as she fought to keep her eyes open.

Without wasting a beat, Brooklyn quickly jumped up from his position on the floor and dashed out the door, calling "I'll go get Owen!" over his back.

A couple minutes later Brooklyn returned with Owen, Xanatos, and Fox in tow. Opening her eyes, Elisa took a minute to glare at Xanatos before saying, "Geez Brooklyn, I didn't mean for you to bring the whole castle!"

"Hey, they were all there when I found Owen!" Brooklyn protested.

Ignoring the squabble, Owen calmly moved over next to Matt and peeled back his eye lids before shining a flashlight in his eyes. With cold, quiet hands Owen gently felt the bump on Matt's forehead.

"Hey, that hurts!" Matt protested as he weakly tried to swat away the manservant.

Ignoring Matt's protests, Owen finished examining him before turning to the rest of the room and announcing, "Detective Bluestone is suffering from a mild concussion and should be kept awake if possible."

"Aw man," Matt groaned as he saw any hope of sleep drift away.

"Now Detectives.. if you could explain to us what is the cause of the conditions that you are in?" Xanatos asked as he looked at the two detectives expectantly.

"Yes Elisa, what happened?" Goliath asked from his position next to her, her hand held in his.

Smiling at the strength he was providing, Elisa turned back to the rest of the room and started. "Well.. I don't really know where to start. I guess the beginning... remember about three weeks ago when we had all of those killings where the victims blood was drained?"

"Yeah, your wanna-be vampire," Broadway supplied with a smile.

"No, try our real vampire."

"What?!" the group asked in disbelief.

"Are you sure that it wasn't you that hit your head?" Fox asked Elisa in disbelief.

Glaring at Fox, Elisa continued. "Trust me, he's very real. His name is Krishna, and he's the one who killed all of the women.. and that girl right from under our noses," Elisa replied bitterly, her eyes turning stormy.

"And he's a vampire?" Owen asked in disbelief. Even as a child of Oberon, he had never heard a thing about vampires other than the fact that they were just tales made up to scare children.

"Yes, he's a vampire!" Elisa snapped, frustrated at the looks she was receiving from everyone that pretty much said, "she's lost it."

"And how do you know so much about this 'Krishna'?" Brooklyn asked slowly, his expression innocent.

"Because I've met the guy!" Elisa sighed as she leaned against the chair, not happy in the slightest at the way this was going. ~So much for my friend's believing me unconditionally~ Elisa thought bitterly to herself.

"I'm sorry Elisa, but you must be able to understand how difficult this is for us to understand. I mean... vampires?" Angela asked, raising a brow ridge in disbelief.

"Hey.. we've seen stranger? Remember the fey, aliens, Loch Ness monsters... gargoyles?" Elisa asked pointedly. At each word the gargoyles faces turned red and their expressions sheepless.

"Elisa, you know that you we all trust you completely and we will believe what you are saying," Goliath soothed from beside her. "You just must give us time to swallow this.. news."

Hissing in frustration, Elisa was about to start in again when Matt suddenly spoke up from his place on the couch, his eyes closed and his voice tired. "Elisa, just show them your neck," he murmured.

As everyone turned to Elisa with surprise, she followed Matt's advice, her face red with embarrassment, and turned her head to the side, lifting her long black hair away from her neck, revealing the red puncture wounds. ~Why didn't I think of that?~ Elisa wondered to herself as an assortment of gasps filled the room. "Elisa, what happened?" "Are you alright?" "What did he do to you?" were a few of the immediate questions that filled the room. Sighing, she let her hair fall back into place and turned to face the group, not entirely surprised to find Goliath standing with the others, a furious look on his face and his eyes glowing white.

"Would you guys shut up?!" Matt hollered from his place on the couch, breaking in on the multitude of questions. "I have a headache here. Geez, I haven't heard the story yet either so if you guys would just be quiet she could tell us what happened!"

Immediately an expectant silence fell on the room as everyone turned their gazes on her. Sending a grateful smile in Matt's direction, Elisa cleared her throat. "Well... I don't really know where to begin.." she admitted quietly as she closed her eyes again and tried to stay awake.

"How did you meet this Krishna?" Goliath spoke up suddenly as he crouched down on his knees beside her chair. "Did you meet him last night?"

"No.. I actually met him about three weeks ago..."

"Three weeks ago?!" Angela gasped. "But why didn't you tell us!"

"Because I couldn't remember."

"Is it because of him that you're always so tired?" Lexington piped up from the seat he'd taken on the floor.

"Yeah, you can thank Krishna for that."

"What happened?" Goliath asked quietly, trying to hold in the waves of anger he was feeling.

Sighing, Elisa closed her eyes briefly again and tried to collect her thoughts. Deciding that she was ready, Elisa opened her eyes and began. "Do you remember that night, Goliath, when I was supposed to meet you in Central Park?"

"Yes.. I came back to your apartment later that morning and found you asleep.. you said that you must have caught a cab home because you were tired," Goliath answered as he thought back to that night.

"Well, that's not what happened," Elisa said as a frown played across her face. "After Matt dropped me off at the park, I walked in the entrance and was following the trail to where we were supposed to meet. Suddenly this guy came out of the shadows and called out my name..."

"He knew your name?" Brooklyn asked thoughtfully.

"Yeah, and boy was I surprised. He said that he came for me, so I pulled my gun on him and told him to back off," Elisa said, a glint entering her eyes as she relived the night.

"Why didn't you call out for me?" Goliath asked, a hurt note in his voice. If only he had been paying attention, maybe he could have helped then and prevented all that followed.

"At first I didn't because I thought it was some crackpot and that I could handle it myself.. I mean, I had my gun on him! After that, he never gave me a chance to," Elisa answered quietly. "Before I could react, he charged me faster than is humanly possible," Elisa explained. "I was knocked to the ground, and the next thing I know, he has my gun stashed in his waistband. In any case, the wind was knocked out of me, and he then carried me out into the woods... I tried to fight him, but my blows didn't even affect him... and he was so strong!" Elisa said as she remembered her kick to his face that didn't even faze him.

Everyone knew right then that this guy was serious trouble. Sure, Elisa may look like she'd be easy to take down, but her hand to hand combat was beyond the point of good, and she could easily take down pretty much any street punk. If her hits didn't faze him, then he must have been either really strong, or really good... whichever the case just plain bad news.

"So, what happened lass?" Hudson asked quietly, concern on his face as he sat on the edge of his seat.

"He pinned me against a tree and... well he forced my head to the side and.. I felt something prick into my neck and then.. then there was nothing..." Elisa trailed off as a thoughtful expression crossed her face, silence filling the room. Breaking out of her thoughts, Elisa looked up and saw the skeptical looks of her friends. "Now before you start in, I know how this sounds! Trust me, I wouldn't believe it myself if it didn't happen to me.. but that's the thing, it did happen to me!" Elisa argued before anyone could object.

Strangely enough, it wasn't Goliath that comforted her here. "Detective, as weird as your story is, I believe that we're all inclined to believe you.. the proof you offered is pretty conclusive," Xanatos spoke up from his corner of the room.

"So then what happened?" Broadway asked slowly, afraid as to what would come next.

Swallowing, Elisa wondered what to tell. She knew that she didn't do anything bad when   
Krishna brought her into that stone room, but she couldn't help but feel shame over what happened. At least she wasn't forced to endure that.. but pretty much everything up to it. No.. she couldn't tell them.. not now. Maybe later after she herself faced up to it would she be able to tell Goliath, but not everyone else. "Well, he brought me back to my apartment I guess, cause when I woke up Goliath was there," Elisa lied, smiling at Goliath.

Not returning her smile, Goliath turned to Elisa and knelt by her side. Taking her hand in his, he quietly asked, "Why didn't you tell me then what happened?"

"Because I couldn't remember! Each night after he... drains me, he said that he puts a drop of his blood on the wounds which causes them to heal instantly, along with pretty much any other marks on me. Apparently that's the reason why it's taken so long.. cause each time he puts a drop of blood on, he puts back about half of what he took.. which is also probably why I feel so bad tonight.. Matt didn't give him that chance," Elisa said, sending another grateful look in Matt's direction, even though he still had his eyes closed.

"Whoa! Whoa!" Fox interrupted from beside her husband. "Every night?" she asked in confusion, repeating Elisa's words back to her.

"Yeah.. he's been back to visit me every single morning since then. I never remember what's been going on till I see him, and by then it's just too late. And when he's done, it's all forgotten till the next night," Elisa explained.

"But what do you mean, 'why it's taken so long'?" Angela asked, her mind going a mile a minute.

Sighing, Elisa tried to explain. "Apparently, the reason that he was killing all those women is because he's looking for a mate that will stay by his side for eternity," Elisa muttered as she sent a glance in Xanatos's direction.

"Don't worry Detective, the price that this 'vampire' pays for his immortality is too high of a price for me and my family," Xanatos reassured, catching her look.

Nodding her head in acceptance, Elisa continued, "In any case, I guess that the only way to find out who that is, is to administer what he calls 'the test.'"

"Well, what's the test?" Lexington asked.

"I'd rather not get into it," Elisa mumbled quietly. "But one main reason to tell if it's her or not is to see whether or not she can resist him. I guess that most people can't resist doing whatever he tells you to, but I didn't have that problem..."

"Meaning that you're the one," Goliath answered for her slowly.

"Yeah," Elisa mumbled softly. "Ever since he found that out, he's been working to change me. Right now I'm still the same person, but all it takes is to drain my blood gradually over the course of about a month. When that period is over, he then drains me completely and forces me to drink some of his," Elisa said, grimacing at the mere thought. "According to him, after that, I'm a vampire like him."

"After he found you, he no longer needed to search any more, which is why the killings stopped, huh?" Matt asked quietly from his seat on the couch.

"Exactly," Elisa said in surprise. She had thought that he had drifted off a while ago.

"So what happened last night?" Brooklyn asked, trying to bring the story up to date.

"I was too weak to fight him last night. But before he started, I heard Matt come in to drop off my keys. So, I started speaking really loud hoping to get Matt in there," Elisa explained with a small smile.

"And here I thought you were talking in your sleep or had a guy over.. till I heard you mention murder that is.. not really good bed topics," Matt mumbled as he opened his eyes and sent an amused glance at Elisa.

"Yeah, well it's a good thing that you came when you did... he already started the drainage when you arrived, so everything is kind of blurry from here.. you want to take it?" she asked Matt, gladly handing over the spotlight and giving herself a chance to rest without falling asleep, hopefully.

"Sure," Matt mumbled as he tried to pull himself into a sitting position. "Anyway, I decided to check it out and see what Elisa was up to. When I opened the door, I found some guy wearing a black silk shirt, black jeans, with long black hair straddling Elisa in boxer shorts on her bed with his lips attached firmly to her neck."

"Cute, Matt," Elisa muttered, opening her eyes briefly to glare at her partner.

"Hey, I just call it as I see it," Matt protested. "Anyway, I quickly hauled out my gun and fired the guy three or four times in the back..."

"What, no warning?" Xanatos asked in amusement.. this definitely wasn't the rigid do-it-by-the-book Detective Bluestone he knew.

"Hey, you could tell that this was a bad situation and I needed to get him away from my partner," Matt said in defense of his actions. "That's not the important part though.. what was really weird is that the guy, Krishna, rolled with the shots right off the bed and then stood up straight. He was mad, cause then he charged me, his eyes glowing red.. I managed to get a couple more shots off before he hit me like a semi and tossed me into the wall where I hit my head. After that I heard him leave the apartment via a smashed skylight, and then I collapsed on the bed with a massive headache," Matt summarized quickly.

"So what then?" Lexington asked eagerly.

"That's it," Elisa replied, taking up the story once again. "I woke up tonight with Matt unconscious beside me. We quickly got ready and then got out of there."

"Wow..." Broadway mumbled as he looked at the Detectives in awe.

"No, ouch is more like it," Matt groaned as yet another wave of pain flared through his skull, sliding back till he was once again laying on the couch.

"Does he.. does he know about us and the castle?" Angela asked slowly, her eyes locked on Elisa's face.

"No!" Elisa cried out firmly, leaning forward suddenly in her chair. Ignoring the startled   
looks of the clan, Elisa slowly leaned back in the chair and sighed quietly. "I never mentioned a word of the clan or the castle... and I don't think that he ever followed me here--or at least he never mentioned it," Elisa amended quickly.

"Then you can just stay here," Goliath said quickly and decisively in the tone of voice that the clan knew left no room for argument. Unfortunately for him, Elisa wasn't part of the clan.

"No," she objected quickly.

"Why not?" Goliath demanded quickly as he towered above her. "He won't be able to find you here, which means that you'll be safe here."

"What if he is able to find me here?" Elisa demanded back, the strength returning to her voice. "I won't have him attacking the castle on my behalf and perhaps injuring someone!"

"The castle has excellent defenses; that won't happen," Xanatos interrupted calmly.

"I said no," Elisa replied firmly as she glared at Xanatos.

"Elisa, let us help you!" Angela pleaded. "We're your friends."

"Yeah, we can go out and search the city for him.. stop him before he finds you or does any more damage," Brooklyn agreed.

"No!" Elisa cried out vehemently. "You guys don't know how strong and dangerous this guy is... I don't want you guys to be hurt. The city is no longer safe for you guys at night.. he could easily take out a patrol group of two or three of you!"

"Then we won't go after him.. maybe if you hide out here for awhile he'll leave New York City!" Lexington cried eagerly.

"No Lex, he's not going to just give up and leave without me," Elisa said sadly. "I need to lead him away from the city and away from you."

"Elisa, where else can you go? You'll be safer here with us; your friends!" Angela argued as she stepped beside Goliath.

"I'll just leave the city and hide out somewhere for awhile; get him away from New York City," Elisa said defiantly.

"All alone? An' what will ye do if'n he finds ye lass?" Hudson asked calmly from his perch next to Matt.

"He won't find me.. besides, I can take care of myself!" Elisa stated firmly as she slowly stood up, her legs crying out in protest, hurrying all the while to hide the yawn that was threatening her. Dismayed, Elisa began to walk from the room, even as the slightest movement caused her energy to drop in drastic levels. Before she could even make it two feet, Elisa felt her legs give out from under her and darkness enshroud her mind. "Too tired," she mumbled as she fell to the floor.

Luckily for Elisa, Goliath had been watching her movements carefully and was ready when she lost consciousness and fell to the floor. Reaching out quickly he caught her in his arms and lifted her to his chest; her body limp with sleep.

"Too damn stubborn and proud to admit when she needs help," Matt groaned from his seat on the couch.

"Well, now what?" Brooklyn asked as he stared as Elisa's unconscious form.

"We let her rest," Goliath replied simply.

"But what about Krishna?" Brooklyn countered quickly.

"We wait.."

"Wait for what?"

"For him to make his next move. Elisa's right; we're too easy of a target if we divide into groups to search the city, and if we stay together we'll never be able to find him in a city this large... he has the next move."

"So we just sit here and wait?" Broadway asked in surprise.

"We wait," Goliath confirmed sternly.

Nodding his head in agreement, Xanatos smiled at Goliath and said, "Sounds like a wise choice. Owen, if you'd show Goliath to a room so the Detective can get some rest?"

"Of course sir.. if you'd follow me Goliath," Owen replied as he led the way from the room and down one of the many corridors of the castle.

"This is going to be a long night," Brooklyn muttered quietly as he watched Goliath's departing back.

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Elisa's apartment- Sunday, 11/9/97, 4:00am

~Where is she!?!~ Krishna roared in his mind as he surveyed the dark apartment. Shaking his head, Krishna knew without a doubt that the apartment would be empty. "I should have come earlier, right when I awakened," Krishna chided himself. Still, that just wasn't possible. From the minute that the sun set, Krishna had been busy with preparations.. after all, tonight was the last night.. or at least it would have been if he could find Elisa. The next time he saw her it would be her final drainage.. and then he would give her the blood that would save her life and convert her to the dark side forever. And it was not like he would make that final step without doing some preparations first. Starting at darkness's first light so to speak, Krishna had risen and began preparing his humble castle (then again, what castle is ever humble) for his eternal life with Elisa. It was true that they probably wouldn't be staying in New York City for too long.. too many memories for his beloved, but he still didn't want Elisa waking up to a dirty and gloomy old castle. Immediately he set to work on preparing a bed chamber for them in soft reds and blues--following a scheme that suited his needs but seemed to fit her tastes as well. After that he was off to his special tailor where he laid out the specifications for a number of different outfits that the man was to prepare for him.. dresses and pant suits for Elisa.. clothing that would fall into his older taste of fashion but not cramp Elisa's style or the taste of the 90's as well. After that it was time for phone call after phone call to his castle in Italy where he got his contacts moving on preparing the castle for him and Elisa for their return in a week or two. After that, there was nothing left to do but go get Elisa and finish the task.

"Why didn't I think that obvious? Of course she wouldn't be here waiting for me," Krishna chided himself once more. And now she was gone.. his love was gone from him--her memories restored and more drained then he had planned... and it was all thanks to that meddling mortal partner of hers! "Damn you Detective.. you shall pay for your interference!" Krishna roared into the dark apartment. As his anger built Krishna felt that he had no choice but to release it or explode in it's fury. Screaming in rage, Krishna darted forward and shoved over the coffee table in the corner of the apartment's living room, sending the lamp crashing to the floor. "Why won't you love me!?" Krishna yelled as he grabbed a hold of the couch standing before him. Straining his inhuman strength, Krishna lifted up the large piece of furniture and threw it against a wall, completely shattering the couch as well as adding a large whole to her wall. "Why did you leave me!?" he roared as he moved from room to room, completely destroying everything in sight from pictures on the wall, to plates and glasses in the kitchen cupboard, to lamps in various places, to doors leading to the bathroom and closets, to shattered dressers from being thrown against the walls, to the shredded mattress.. the only thing remaining of her bed. Everything was destroyed.

Shaking with anger and fury, Krishna turned to leave the ravaged bedroom when a framed picture laying on the floor caught his eye. Turning, Krishna bent down slowly and took the frame into his hands. The glass was shattered--probably from being smashed against the wall or from his fist--still the picture could be seem from within. It was a picture of Elisa, dressed in her usual detective uniform of jeans and a red jacket, smiling and standing in front of a row of statues. Looking closer, Krishna saw that they were stone gargoyles, adorning a tall building on a bright and sunny day. She was standing casually in front of the statues, a bright smile on her face, leaning slightly against the tallest of the statues. Sighing, Krishna gently rubbed his thumb against the smiling face of Elisa. "So beautiful," he murmured thoughtfully. "I will find you my love and join us so we can be together till the end of time... I won't let you slip away from me and into the morning sun like Sita... I will bring you to me, no matter what it takes!" Krishna vowed, his voice turning hard. Suddenly, another face in the picture caught his eye. "And I think I know just how to find you my love," he murmured as his nail punctured the glass over the shadowed face. Turning, he dropped the picture frame to the ground, smashing it further, and returned to the remains of the living room. "I will find you dear Elisa.. and then we can be together forever... tomorrow night will be ours," he whispered as he turned and jumped into the lighting sky, never looking back, the picture of Elisa, the seven statues, and the shadowed face of her partner, Detective Matthew Bluestone laying smashed on the carpeted floor.

******************************************************************************

Castle Wyvern- 5:25 am

"Father... the sun is rising."

Startled, Goliath looked up to see Angela waiting quietly in the doorway. Shaking his head, Goliath realized that he must have been more tired than he thought, never hearing her come in. "I'll be along shortly," Goliath answered.

The bright smile that was plastered on Angela's face faltered slightly before returning in full force. "Okay, we'll be waiting on the parapets," she said as she turned and left the room, closing the door softly behind her.

Sighing, Goliath turned his attention back to the bed before him. For the last eight hours or so, Goliath had sat vigilantly by Elisa's bedside. The room that Owen has led him to was nicely furnished with a fire going in the fire place. Not bothering with any questions, Goliath gently deposited Elisa on the large bed occupying one corner. Turning around, he was surprised to see that Owen was still in the room. "What?" Goliath asked pointedly, confused at Owen's arched eye brow--the only show of emotion on his pale face.

"It seems as though Detective Maza may be sleeping for awhile," he commented quietly.

"Yes, she's exhausted and needs the rest," Goliath agreed, wondering all the while what Owen's point was.

"Ah hem.. don't you think it would be wise then to at least take off the Detective's shoes and jacket and put her under the covers for a more comfortable sleep?" he intoned.

Turning back to Elisa, Goliath felt the color rise in his cheeks as he thought of the common sense behind Owen's words. "Yes, I..."

"Good, then I shall leave you so you may help the Detective," Owen replied as he hurried from the room, closing the door behind him.

Sighing, Goliath turned back to his human friend and gently slid off her shoes and jacket before depositing her under the covers of the bed. Once that was done, he pulled one of the large chairs in the room next to the bed and sat down quietly. With that he sat and sat and sat, content to be her guardian and be by her side while she slept.

Shaking his head, Goliath remembered Angela's warning of a few minutes ago and   
focused his attention on Elisa. For the last eight hours he had sat by her side, watching as her breathing continued unabated and as more and more color gradually returned to her face. Somewhere in the course of the waiting he had gently taken her hand in his. Looking down, Goliath thought once again how beautiful she looked in sleep, all the lines caused by the pain in her life smoothed out. Truly a goddess. In all honesty, he wasn't quite sure what his exact feelings for the Detective were, but he knew that she was very special to him.. more so than any other. He wasn't sure on that, but he was very sure on another matter.. the fact that he very much wanted the chance to figure that out with Elisa, exactly what their feelings for each other were.. something that couldn't be possible if something or someone managed to take Elisa away from him. That just meant that he would have to make sure that nothing did ever take her away--nothing. "Sleep well, Elisa," Goliath whispered as he finally stood up and unwrapped his hand from hers. Turning, Goliath opened the door and was about to exit into the hallway when a sudden urge came over him. Before he had time to think it over (one of his common mistakes) and change his mind, Goliath turned back to Elisa's bedside and kissed her softly on her smooth forehead. He wasn't quite sure why he did what he did, but he felt better after doing it.

Smiling, he hurried from the room and down the twisty hallways and into the brightening sky. As he saw the long faces of his clan, the realization of what they were about to face sunk over him once more. They all had reason to fear the coming of the night--for tonight would be the night. Sighing, Goliath joined his clan on the parapet and joined them in their ferocious poses as they met the sun. His last thoughts before sleep stole over him once more was of the sleeping beauty tucked away in the castle. ~I will protect you...~

******************************************************************************

"Magnificent," Xanatos murmured as he watched the gargoyles turn to stone. "Imagine that of all the people in this world, I get to watch my own little showing of this every morning in my home."

"One of the perks of being one of the richest men in the world, sir?" Owen intoned dryly from his position from beside Xanatos in the doorway of the Great Hall.

"Perhaps," Xanatos answered simply as he gazed at the seven stone statues. "Tell me Owen, does your counterpart have any experience or knowledge of how to deal with vampires?"

"No sir, the Puck and the rest of the third race, as to his knowledge, have never encountered anything of the sort. He did do a little research on the topic back on Avalon..."

"Any weaknesses?"

"One book, fiction mind you, did mention something about the harm of copper on the undead..." Owen replied calmly.

"Hmm, copper.." Xanatos mused quietly. "Anything else?"

"Just from the movies, sir," was Owen's quiet reply.

"In that case, it seems as though you better break out the crosses, garlic, holy water, and silver bullets," Xanatos joked.

"Silver bullets are said to have no effect, sir," Owen corrected. "You're thinking of the legend involving werewolves."

"Ah, thank you Owen," Xanatos said, giving his assistant a sidelong glance. "Well, in any case, do some more research today. I want you to find everything you can on vampires and get it to me by the end of the day," Xanatos ordered.

"Yes Mr. Xanatos," Owen replied as he watched the bright sun climb above the horizon and more fully into the bright daylight. ~I only hope that will be enough.~

******************************************************************************

Castle Wyvern - Sunday, 11/9/97, 5:00pm

"Where the hell am I?"

Shaking his head, Matt looked around the darkened room quickly. Stone floors and walls, old furniture, slightly chilly... gotta be at the castle, Matt decided quickly. With that deduction all of his memories of the last two nights came rushing back. While everyone was busy rushing around last night, Matt had snuck off and found this room and crashed. ~Hey, it was the only way I would have been able to get some sleep!~ Matt reasoned to himself. After all, the gargoyles would have just followed Owen's orders to keep him awake. "Rest definitely does the body good," Matt mumbled as he wiped the sleep from his eyes and jumped out of bed. "Yikes, cold floor!" he gasped as he quickly fell back onto the rumpled bed. Looking around, he quickly found his socks and shoes, threw on his trench coat, and then stumbled into the nearby bathroom. Turning on the light, he was happy to see that he now only a bruise on his forehead where his head had connected with the wall. That was good news, cause if the captain saw....

"Aw shit, the captain!" Matt moaned as he thought about just how much trouble he was probably in right now. "Gotta find a phone," he mumbled to himself as he searched the room. He was in luck. Rushing back over to the bed, Matt scooped up the receiver of a telephone that was laying on the nearby bed stand. Dialing quickly, Matt waited for the rings.

"Hello, Captain Chavez speaking."

"Hey, Captain..."

"Bluestone? Detective Bluestone, where the hell have you been?!"

"I..."

"I get a call last night that you're sick, and then when this shit with Elisa hits the fan, I try to contact you this morning but you're not home!"

"Elisa?..."

"Elisa, is she with you? Do you know where she is?"

"Yeah, Elisa's with me and she's fine... why, what happened?" Matt asked quickly, holding the receiver tighter in his hand.

"The station got a call earlier this morning from one of the residents in Elisa's apartment building about a lot of noise coming from her apartment. When we sent a car over, we found her place pretty much destroyed..."

"Her apartment? You mean that someone's been in her apartment?"

"Unless she tore her own apartment apart, yeah, someone's been there!" Chavez yelled into the phone.

"Shit... I..."

"Bluestone, I want you to shut your mouth, grab Elisa, and get down to her apartment, NOW!" Chavez ordered through the phone.

In his mind's eye, Matt could just see the Captain gripping the phone tightly with both hands, face red, and shoulders hunched in fury. "Ah, Captain? Elisa is sick, but I'll be right on over!" Matt promised. Before she could have a chance to comment or retaliate Matt continued, "I'll be there in fifteen minutes and then I'll have a report on your desk by morning. Bye Captain!" Quickly he hung up the phone and dashed from the room. He had to get to Elisa's apartment, and fast. If he was too late, the Chavez would really have his seat on a hot plate.. he'd just have to tell Elisa what he found out later. Looking at his watch, Matt cursed softly, made sure he had Elisa's car keys in hand, and then quickened his pace down the deserted hallways of the castle.

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Castle Wyvern - 6:32pm

As the bright sun dipped over the horizon, the bright shades of blue and yellow changed to the night time colors of deep blue, purples, and reds. Along with the change of color came the change of stone to flesh. Roaring against the new night, each of the seven gargoyles slowly stretched out their limbs to the heavens as they welcomed the departing rays of sunshine. For Goliath and the clan, they knew that this night would be unlike the others that had passed before it.. something would change.

With this thought in mind, Goliath turned and jumped down from his daily perch... and then stopped in his tracks. "Elisa, what are you doing up? You should be resting!" Goliath cried out.

Opposite the awakening gargoyles, Elisa Maza was leaning comfortably against the cool brick wall, watching with an amused smile on her face. To his delight, there was more color in her face and her eyes were alert. Altogether, she looked awake.

"Hey guys," Elisa greeted quietly as the clan gathered around her.

"Are you alright, Elisa?" Angela asked quickly, concerned like her father that Elisa was up and about instead of resting in bed.

"Don't worry!" Elisa assured, laughing quietly. "I'm still tired and weaker than usual, but I feel better. More importantly, after a shower, I actually feel awake for once!" Elisa said with a large smile.

At Elisa's apparent turn of optimism, the group smiled warmly and nodded. "Listen, do you guys want to gather everyone into the Great Hall? I saw Fox wandering around and told her, but I haven't seen Matt, Xanatos, or Owen yet... I think that it's time to have a planning session.

"How to take down Krishna?" Lexington asked eagerly.

"Are you sure lass?" Hudson asked quietly.

"Yeah, you could say that I'm ready to kick some ass!" Elisa cried out with a small smirk.

Nodding his approval, Goliath quickly handed out the orders. "Brooklyn, you go and find Xanatos. Lexington, I want you to find Matt. Angela and Broadway, you two can find Owen. Hudson and Bronx can come with Elisa and I to the Great Hall right now."

"Okay, Goliath, we'll meet you there," Brooklyn promised before diving off of the ramparts to a lower level of the castle in search of his person.

"And be quick, time may be of the essence!" Goliath yelled out at their departing backs.

******************************************************************************

Castle Wyvern - Great Hall

As each person entered the large room, they immediately moved close to the gathering around the table. Seated in a small cluster was Elisa, Xanatos, and Fox, with the rest of the gargoyles standing around, straining to hear the conversation.

"So do we know where to find this guy?" Fox asked, turning to stare at Elisa.

"Well, he does have a castle somewhere.." Elisa murmured quietly as she struggled to remember the night so many weeks ago.. the first night of her encounter.

"He has a castle?" Lexington asked in disbelief.

"Hey, don't all vampires have to have a castle?" Brooklyn joked lamely.

"More importantly, how do you know about it? Did he tell you about it?" Xanatos interrupted.

"No, he took me there once...."

"He took you to his castle?" Goliath asked quickly.

"Yes but..."

"So, ye know where it is then, lass?" Hudson interrupted.

"No, I..."

"You mean you don't remember where it was?" Angela broke in.

"Would you guys stop interrupting and let me finish?!" Elisa asked in exasperation. At the startled silence due to her outbreak, Elisa smiled and said, "Thank you. Now what I was trying to say was that I was unconscious when he brought me there and fast asleep when he brought me back, and I was never let out of the one room I was in."

"Tis okay, lass," Hudson soothed, trying to hide his disappointment.

"I don't know exactly where it is, but he did mention something about it's location..."

"What did he say?" Broadway asked eagerly.

"I believe his exact words were, it's 'just a few minutes flying distance from our encounter point in Central Park.'" Elisa recalled.

"So it's by Central Park?" Brooklyn proclaimed with excitement.

"Yeah, and there can't be that many castles around Central Park, can there be.. I mean, just Blarney Castle by the lake and that new castle, Castle Granite, right... Matt?" Elisa broke off in mid-sentence. "Hey, where's Matt?"

"Oh yeah, I was going to tell you guys but you were already talking when I got here,"   
Lexington explained hastily. "I looked all over the place but I couldn't find him."

"You couldn't find him?" Elisa asked in disbelief.

"I searched all over!" Lexington cried defensively.

"Actually, our security cameras showed that Detective Bluestone left the building a couple of hours ago," Owen broke in quietly.

"He left?!" Elisa practically screamed.

"Excuse me, Detective, but I fail to see why this matter is cause for you to get so upset," Xanatos broke in, confusion written all over his face.

"Think about it... Krishna has seen Matt, and as far as this demented vampire cares, Matt   
is probably his only link to me!" Elisa spelled it out slowly.

"Matt could be in trouble!" Lexington realized, the green color draining from his face.

"But where is he?" Brooklyn asked, raising his hands in a I-don't-know gesture.

"Manhattan is a big city.. he could be anywhere!" Broadway mumbled quietly.

"Elisa, you should call the station.. they might know where Matt is," Goliath broke in suddenly, grabbing Elisa's arm gently to get her attention.

"You're right..." Elisa mumbled, and then began turning as the conversation around her heightened, looking everywhere for a phone that she could use.

"Detective, this may be of some use to you."

Jumping in surprise, Elisa turned quickly and found Owen standing quietly behind her, a cellular phone in one hand. Nodding her thanks, Elisa quickly took the phone and dialed Captain Chavez's number. As the phone rang, Elisa quickly held up her hand and hissed for silence.

"Chavez."

"Captain, this is Maza. I was wond..."

"Elisa, where the hell are you!?" Captain Maria Chavez's voice rang through the receiver, loud enough for the entire room to hear.

"I..."

"Bluestone said that you were sick and that you couldn't make it to your apartment.. are you feeling up to it yet?"

"My apartment?" Elisa asked in confusion.

"He didn't tell you?" the Captain asked in surprise.

"No.. ah, I've been really sick..."

"I know Maza. In any case, you better head on over to your apartment. It's just a good thing that you weren't there. Apparently someone broke into your apartment early this morning and really trashed the place..."

"My apartment?" Elisa croaked. Thoughts of her clothes, her furniture, and all of the memories stored there crowded her mind.

"I'm sorry," Chavez replied simply. Her voice softening, she asked, "Do you have any idea who could have done this? Any enemies that you're aware of?"

Elisa knew exactly who had trashed her apartment. "No Cap," Elisa lied, her voice soft. "I don't know who or why someone would have done this," Elisa replied. "Is that where Matt is?"

"Yes, I sent him over when he called earlier..."

"Okay, thanks Captain!" Elisa said and quickly hung up the phone before any more questions were asked. There would probably be consequences later and lessons on proper phone behavior when dealing with her superior, but that could wait. All that mattered now was finding Matt and getting him back here before Krishna found him first.

Sighing, Elisa turned back and faced the expectant group. "Well, what did she say?!" Lexington asked eagerly.

"She said that Matt's at my apartment," Elisa explained.

"Your apartment? Why would Matt go to your apartment?" Angela asked slowly, confusion clouding her features.

"Apparently my apartment was vandalized earlier this morning--destroyed is more the word--by an unknown assailant," Elisa summarized with a scowl.

"Krishna?" Goliath asked quietly.

"That would be my guess," Elisa agreed. Shaking her head, Elisa pushed thoughts of her apartment and focused on what was really important: Matt. There would be plenty enough time after this was all over to worry about her apartment. "That's not important though. We have to get over to my apartment and get Matt out of there and back here!" Elisa said, turning towards the doors that led out into the dark night sky. Not waiting to see if the rest were following, Elisa began thinking aloud. "Goliath, you can carry me, and Brooklyn can grab Matt for the trip back.. oh, and we better take Lexington, Broadway, and Angela with us just in case. The rest can wait here and guard the castle," she finished as she reached the door. Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning around, she looked up and Goliath in confusion. "Come on Goliath, we have to hurry!" she urged.

"I agree with everything you said except for one thing: you will stay here at the castle and wait with Hudson, Bronx, and the others," Goliath stated quietly.

"What?! Goliath, you can't possibly expect me to wait here while you guys go out and find Matt! He's my partner!" Elisa contested.

"I know that, but the risk is too great for you," Goliath soothed quietly.

"But..."

"Elisa, I know that you are a good fighter and can take care of yourself better than most humans, but even you yourself admitted that you no longer have the strength or energy to fight him anymore. If he finds you, and we're not there to protect you, then it's all over for you.... all it takes is one time and one minute of inattention for you to be gone. I won't take that chance with you!" Goliath stated to her quietly, the intensity in his voice evident.

Turning, Elisa saw the rest of the group staring at them quietly, waiting to hear the outcome. Everyone knew that Goliath was a stubborn leader.. then again, all Mazas had a strong stubborn streak as well. "But.."

"Elisa, you will be safe here in the castle. You said so yourself that Krishna doesn't know about the castle," Goliath urged quietly.

Sighing, Elisa knew that Goliath was right. That didn't make what she was about to say any easier, but it had to be said. "Fine, I'll wait here," Elisa agreed, her frustrated sigh and the biting tone in her voice making it obvious to all that she didn't agree with this in one bit.

Smiling, Goliath nodded in agreement, trying hard to hide the pride he felt at winning this battle of wills against Elisa. "Thank you..."

"But you guys have to call here and let us know immediately what's going on, alright?" Elisa asked, her gaze piercing his.

"The minute we know something, we will call you," Goliath agreed.

Sighing in resignation, Elisa backed away from the large, winged leader and watched as he organized the clan. Trying to hold her head high, she slowly took her place next to Hudson, Bronx, and the other inhabitants of the castle as the group of young and experienced warriors filed out of the Great Hall and into the night sky. "Good luck," she whispered to their departing backs.

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Outside of Elisa's apartment building - 7:15pm

"Man, Elisa's going to be pissed!" Matt murmured to himself as he let himself out of the apartment building and walked down the stairs to Elisa's car. Not only had Elisa's apartment been vandalized.. it had been demolished as well. Everything had been smashed, broken, and ultimately destroyed.. even the kitchen sink! Nothing had been spared and now Elisa had thousands of dollars worth of damage on her hands. Groaning, Matt unlocked the red Fairlane door and slid in behind the wheel. Shaking his head, he quickly put the keys in the ignition and pulled away from the curb. Time to head over to the castle and break the news to his partner--something he definitely wasn't looking forward to!

Suddenly a flicker of light and movement from the corner of his eye drew his attention. Turning, he saw that the disturbance must have come from the dark alley to his right. Reacting purely on cop instinct, Matt quickly turned the car wheel and pulled slowly into the alley, the car's headlights illuminating the dark space. Squinting into the harsh glare, Matt slowly saw a shape take form, huddled against the dirty brick wall of a nearby building. Hissing in frustration at the lack of complete illumination on the person, Matt withdrew his revolver from his holster and opened the car door. Moving with caution, he stepped out of the car and pointed his revolver towards the ground, the safety off.

"Hey, I'm a cop.. identify yourself," Matt called out to the huddling figure. Matt had been working the streets of New York for too long--okay, so maybe a couple of years wasn't THAT long--but nonetheless, Matt knew trouble when he saw it. After all, what kind of person would be hiding out in an alley at this time of night? Sure, bums can usually be found in alleys.. but in such a nice part of New York City? Nah, they usually stuck to the seedy sections. That left either an innocent bystander who looks suspicious or a crook/soon-to-be-crook up to no good. In either case, it didn't hurt to check it out. After all, he wasn't in a big hurry to tell Elisa about her apartment.. he did have SOME common sense left. "Hey buddy, I said to identify yourself!" Matt shouted suddenly at the individual.

"Are you sure that's what you really want, Detective Bluestone?" the person called out quietly. Before Matt had a chance to react to the familiar voice and the use of his name by an apparent stranger, the same person charged Matt faster than he would have thought possible and shoved him against the brick wall, hard. Groaning, Matt fell to the ground, holding the back of his head in his hands. "Now Detective, where is she?"

"Krishna," Matt groaned as he took his hand away from his head and drew it into the light. Sighing, Matt saw the smear of blood. "Shit, I just healed my fucking head because of you!" Matt griped as he tried to get to his feet. Big mistake.

Growling, Krishna quickly kicked Matt in the stomach, causing him to fall to the ground and groan in pain. "Because of you, I can no longer find my love. Because of your meddling you stupid mortal!" Krishna hissed, his voice filled with venom. Without giving Matt a chance to respond, Krishna quickly kicked Matt again, and again, and again. Repeated blow after blow from Krishna's steel pointed boot landed with indescribable venom on Matt's unprotected stomach and kidneys. Matt had no way to fight back and could do nothing as the kicks continued until Matt heard a few of his ribs finally break under the repeated blows. As the cracking sound reached Krishna's ears, he finally stopped. Smiling evilly, he watched as Matt groaned and curled into a fetal ball, trying his best to wrap his arms around his battered middle. "Now I'll ask again, Detective Bluestone. Where is Elisa?"

In between the groans of agony and pain, Matt managed two small words. "Fuck... you..."

"Stupid mortal!!" Krishna roared in fury. Bending down, he easily grabbed the aching detective, lifted him in the air, and then tossed him against the far wall.

As Matt bounced off the wall and hit the ground, he heard another crack-this time his arm as it twisted painfully and in an unnatural direction under the force of the resounding crash. Crying out, Matt tried to hold back the tears of agony after wave after wave of pain rolled throughout his battered body. Looking up, Matt found that the torture wasn't over yet.

Standing over the bleeding detective, Krishna smiled evilly and said, "Ouch, that looks like it hurts. Perhaps you would like the pain to end... just tell me where she is."

"Fuck you!" Matt yelled, gathering strength to yell the words as his voice cracked with the strain.

"No my friend, it is you who are fucked!" Krishna retorted. Moving quickly, Krishna bent down and lifted Bluestone up by the neck until he was pinned against the brick wall. Smiling, Krishna moved his cold eyes and stared at Matt's broken arm. Then, his roving eyes moved to the strong and working arm that was grasping the hand that held his neck in a pincer grip. Smiling the same evil smile, Krishna reached forward with his other hand and grabbed the wrist of his good arm. Laughing, Krishna slowly began to bend the wrist backward as the Detective yelled out in pain. "Now Detective, I'll ask you one final time... where is Elisa?"

"I said... fuck... you!" Matt gritted in between clenched teeth.

Sighing, Krishna shook his head in mock pity as he quickly bent Matt's wrist back the rest of the way and snapped the bone. Laughing, he watched in amusement as Matt's body tensed with pain and a bloodcurdling scream rose from his lips in pain. "I admire your devotion to Elisa. So, I suppose that I will have to do this the easy way," Krishna replied. Turning his wrist slightly, Krishna forced Matt's head till he was looking into his pain clouded eyes. Slowly, the eyes did the trick as the cloudiness disappeared, replaced with a strange look.. a look of the bewitched. "Now, I will ask again. Where is Elisa?"

"Elisa... Elisa.. Elisa is... at the castle," Matt mumbled quietly, a far away look entering his eyes.

"What castle?"

"Castle.. Castle Wyvern... safe with the Gargoyles and Xanatos..."

Xanatos? Thinking back, Krishna had a dim recollection of reading a newspaper from a few weeks ago. Within in the paper was an article about an eccentric billionaire here in New York City.. David Xanatos. Also mentioned in the article was the mighty Eerie Building with an old Scottish castle perched on the top. ~Ah, so she is hiding in a castle in the sky..~ Krishna thought to himself. Still, the comment about Gargoyles protecting her was baffling. ~He must be delirious from the pain.. probably talking about the stone gargoyles on the top of the castle... I must remember to torture the subject after I get all the info from them~ Krishna thought to himself. Shrugging, Krishna decided to worry about the puzzling reply later. For now, all that mattered was retrieving his love from this billionaire. But first, he must take care of the pesky detective... a painful death indeed.

Just then though, Krishna remembered his promise to Elisa that he made weeks ago. ~I vowed to her that I would never again kill an innocent mortal... then again, this Detective may not be innocent. After all, as part of being a detective, he has probably killed before. Then again, is my need for revenge so great that I'm willing to alienate my love by taking that chance! What if she considers him to be an innocent.. not to mention her partner. No, I won't kill him.. at least not yet~ Krishna decided to himself.

Not wanting to waste any more time on this petty indifference, Krishna quickly dropped the detective to the ground, who was now nearly unconscious from the pain. "Until later Detective Bluestone.. and don't worry, I'll take very good care of your partner!" Krishna replied to the semi-conscious detective before scaling the nearby building with uncommon grace and speed. Laughing, he then launched himself into the night sky. "Time to recapture my love at the Castle in the sky!"   


******************************************************************************

Skies above Manhattan - 7:55pm

After making a sweep over Elisa's apartment building and seeing no sign of Matt or Elisa's car, the clan quickly started searching in widening circles around the building. About five minutes later, Broadway broke the tense silence that had fallen over the clan. "Hey Goliath, isn't that Elisa's car?"

"Where?" Goliath asked quickly, searching the crowded city streets for the red Fairlane.

"Over there, in that alley!"

Turning his head quickly in the indicated direction, Goliath cursed something that he had picked up from Brooklyn and dove down to the alley. Thanks to Elisa's headlights, the alley was brightly lit, making it easy for all to see the huddled form laying a little away from the car.

Rushing forward, Goliath dropped next to the human's side and slowly turned him over. "Matt!" Goliath hissed. It was definitely Matt, but what he saw shocked him to his core. Matt's red hair was made redder by a matted mess of blood and rock in the back, his trench coat was tattered allowing view of Matt's shirt which was turned from white to red with dots of blood all over his chest, his right arm was laying at an unnatural angle, while the wrist on his left arm was suffering from the same predicament. "Lexington, find a phone and call an ambulance!" Goliath ordered quickly.

Closing his mouth and snapping to attention, Lexington nodded quickly and then scampered around the corner. Sighing, Goliath turned back to Matt just as he heard him whisper, "Elisa..." Actually, it was more of a hiss than a whisper. Startled, Goliath looked down, expecting to see Matt looking up at him.. instead, he saw that Matt was still unconscious, his face pinched tight in agony. Suddenly Matt groaned and rolled slightly on the ground. "Elisa... sorry Elisa..." Matt mumbled quietly. As dread filled Goliath to the core, he leaned closer to hear the quiet mumblings better. "His eyes... couldn't... stop myself... so sorry...."

As the pieces to the message fell together in his mind, Goliath jumped up quickly, surprising the rest of the clan. "He knows..."

"Who knows what?" Brooklyn asked impatiently, seeing the fear in his leader's eyes.. something that he never quite saw before.

"Krishna knows about the castle! He knows where Elisa is!" Goliath explained hastily.

"Krishna?.." Angela asked in surprise.

"Who else could have done this to Matt? When he couldn't get Matt to tell him where Elisa was by using violence and pain, he used his eyes!"

"But..." Broadway stuttered.

"No time!" Goliath insisted. "Angela, I want you to wait here for Lexington to get back, and then make sure that Matt makes it to the hospital alright. After that, get back to the castle immediately! Brooklyn, Broadway, you're with me!" Goliath ordered quickly as he turned and scaled the brick wall, his large talons crushing the stone beneath them.

Catching the air of intensity and of running out of time, Brooklyn and Broadway quickly followed, leaving Angela staring after them, worry on her face. "I just hope you're not too late," she muttered quietly to the dark sky, alone with Matt and her imagination.

******************************************************************************

Castle Wyvern, Great Hall - 8:00pm

Back and forth, back and forth Elisa walked, pacing the length of the Great Hall. With each lap of the grand room, the intensity level felt throughout increased ten fold.

"Elisa, will you stop the damn pacing?" Fox suddenly spoke up from her chair at the long table. It was the first words to be spoken since the gargoyles left.

"I can't help it, I'm nervous!" Elisa cried.

"We know lass, but ye're making all of us even more nervous," Hudson soothed gently.

Sighing, Elisa stopped her pacing and turned to face the group. Ever since the clan left, Xanatos, Fox, and Hudson had sat at the great table, staring remotely from each other to the contents of the room, back to each other. Elisa had joined them for awhile, but then it became too much for her and she quickly began to pace the room. "Argh! What's taking them so long! We should have heard something by now!" Elisa cried out in frustration.

"Calm down lass.. we need to give Goliath time ta do his job."

"Besides Detective, I'm sure that Detective Bluestone is fine. In the past he's shown that he's more than capable of taking care of himself," Xanatos broke in, trying his best to reassure his one time enemy.

"Against Krishna, no one can take care of themselves.. including Goliath," Elisa whispered quietly, wishing more than ever that she would have ignored Goliath's wisdom and logic and would have went with the others.

Suddenly a pair of doors opened on the far side of the room. Jumping slightly, Elisa turned quickly and then breathed a small sigh of relief when she saw that it was only Owen.

"Detective.. telephone for you. Goliath," Owen said simply as he handed her his cellular telephone.

Grabbing it, Elisa quickly put the phone to her ear and said, "Goliath?!" On the other end of the phone, Elisa heard some muffled mumbling along with a lot of static. "Goliath!?"

"Might I suggest the hallway, Detective Maza? He's calling from a mic and you may get better reception from there," Owen said calmly, interrupting her half shrill calls.

Nodding her thanks, Elisa turned and hurried out into the hallway, closing the door behind her. In the eerie darkness of the hall, Elisa held the phone once more to her ear and said, "Goliath?!"

"Elisa!... I.."

"Matt! Have you found Matt? Is he okay?" Elisa interrupted quickly. The quick intake of breath was the only answer Elisa needed. "Oh God, what happened?" she asked quickly, holding onto the wall with one hand for support. "Please say that he's alive," she begged quietly.

"Yes, he's alive," Goliath confirmed. "Krishna found him before we did, and he's on the way to the hospital right now."

"Oh God.. how bad is it?"

"Matt will be okay, but that's not what's important right now!"

"What?!" Elisa asked in disbelief. How could Matt's condition not be important? Nothing would have ever happened to him if it wasn't for her.

Once again, his reply was all she needed. "Krishna knows where you are..."

"What?!" Elisa asked in amazement, nearly dropping the phone.

"He must have used his eyes on Matt or something, but I think he got your location from Matt!"

"But.." "Elisa, you have to get away! Krishna must be coming!"

Before Elisa had a chance to answer, a large crash resounded from behind the door that she just left. "He's already here," she mumbled before dropping the phone and opening the door, already sure of what she would see. Sure enough, she was right.

Standing where the door to the courtyard once stood was Krishna, his black clothes the picture of perfection, his black hair blowing in his own wind, and his pale skin glowing.. he hadn't fed lately--probably saving himself for her. Standing immediately in front of Krishna was Hudson, his sword drawn, and Bronx, growling his menacing growl. Xanatos and Fox were standing behind the table with Owen, shocked looks on all of their faces. Couldn't blame them--it was their first time of seeing a vampire before.

Then again, they weren't the only ones with shocked expressions on their faces. Krishna was staring wide-eyed at Hudson and Bronx and could barely be heard mumbling something like "They're real... the idiot was telling the truth about her being protected by gargoyles..." Suddenly the surprise was wiped off of Krishna's face as he stared at the two gargoyles standing before him. "Where is Elisa? Give her to me now and no one will be hurt," Krishna demanded slowly, his voice cold.

Shaking his head slowly, Hudson waved his sword in front of Krishna and said, "I don't think so lad." With no other words from either, Bronx suddenly attacked from the side. Darting forward, he tried to sink his large teeth into Krishna's side. Unfortunately for Bronx, Krishna saw the attack coming and easily threw the large beast into one of the walls, knocking Bronx unconscious.

Roaring his battle cry, Hudson attacked immediately after, never giving Krishna the chance to recover from his throw. Still, it wasn't soon enough because Krishna easily dodged Hudson's large sword and danced back a couple of paces. Before Hudson could charge again, Krishna lifted one of his hands and turned it slightly. Confused, Hudson turned at the sound of scraping wood behind him. Turning, he barely had time to cry out before the large and heavy oak table that he had been sitting at moments earlier came flying across the room straight for him. Picking up speed, the table crashed first into Hudson and then pushed him back against the far wall where the table imbedded its thick, oak legs into the wall, Hudson trapped between the stone and wood.

"Guess you're stuck between a rock and a hard place," Krishna muttered quietly, a smirk lifting the corners of his mouth. Then a sudden flash of green light caught his eyes. Turning, Krishna noticed that there were two other humans in the room-a tall, slim man with a goatee and a beautiful woman with fiery red hair and a tattoo over one eye. Standing.. well, floating next to them was a short and petite white haired man with pointed ears. "What in the hell are you?" Krishna asked in surprise.

"I'm a trickster," Puck answered evenly. "And I definitely think that this applies under Daddy Oberon's laws of when to change or not!" Puck yelled gleefully.

"Who?" Krishna asked in confusion. Okay, this was getting really weird.. even for him!

"Now, what was I reading about? Oh yeah, this!" Puck yelled as he twirled his hands in the air, his eyes glowing a bright green.

Confused, Krishna looked down and found that he now had a copper chain wrapped tightly around his middle, pinning his arms to his side. Confused and baffled to the point he had never reached before, Krishna could only stand there and stare, his mouth hanging open.

"As you can see, I've done my research on vampires," Puck said smugly. "Actually, it was a bit of a hobby of mine back on Avalon," he continued when he got no response from Krishna, who just continued to stare stupidly at the floating fey. When there still wasn't a response, Puck added, "Yeah, I read that copper was much worse for vampires and did a better job of restraining them than all that other stuff seen in the movies." Suddenly Puck realized that he didn't even have the vampires full attention any more. Instead of staring at Puck in wide-eyed amazement, he was now focused intently on something over Puck's shoulder. Confused, Puck turned and looked over his shoulder. It didn't take him long to realize what had captured Krishna's attention: standing in the shadowed doorway that led to the hallway was Elisa, her eyes wide in surprise. "What..." Puck started to ask as he turned back to the captured vampire... until he saw what was happening.

Krishna's eyes now glowed a deep red, and with a burst of strength and flexed muscles the large, copper chain shattered, sending copper fragments flying in all directions. Groaning, Puck only had the chance to mutter, "Oh darn," before Krishna turned his full attention back on the fey. Nodding his head, a large iron chain that was used to support some tapestries on the wall tore loose and wrapped quickly around the petite fairies middle, effectively pinning Puck's arms to his side.

Crying out in pain, Puck immediately tumbled from his position in mid-air and landed hard on the stone floor. Even as he hit the floor, the iron chains were doing their work as they bit through his skin like acid, causing him to loose consciousness.

"I've done research on fey once as well.... seems as though I read the more reliable book," Krishna said as the light went out of Puck's eyes and he went limp on the ground. Grinning, Krishna walked forward till he was standing above the unconscious fey.

"Fox," Xanatos whispered harshly.

"Huh?" Fox asked of her husband, turning to him in confusions, the shocked and horror filled expression at what she just witnessed still plastered on her face.

"Grab Elisa and get out of here!" he hissed quickly, already grabbing her arm and   
shoving her towards the door, where Elisa too was frozen into place in shock.

"But..."

"GO! I'm going to try and slow him down!"

"No, David, I'll stay and we'll try to fight him together," Fox argued quietly, keeping a wary eye on where Krishna continued to stand over the fallen fey about twenty feet from them, his back turned.

"Fox, we can't stop him.. not on our own. If he gets Elisa, it's all over for her... get her away!" David pleaded, her dark eyes boring into hers.

Suddenly, Fox watched in horror as Krishna delivered a devastating kick to the downed fey. That was all the convincing she needed. "Be careful David!"

"I will.. and make sure to head in the opposite direction of Alex's nursery!" Xanatos reminded as his wife bolted away from him suddenly and ran for the door. Without wasting any time, Fox quickly yanked on Elisa's arm and dragged the astonished detective down one of the dark hallways. As the women ran, Fox tried to close her ears to the sound of fighting.. and of one human male cry out in pain.

"Fox, wait! We can't leave him there all alone!" Elisa protested, yanking her arm out of Fox's, listening to the battle in the room.

"Do you think I want to leave my husband in there with that monster?!" Fox snapped as she quickly grabbed Elisa's arm and took off down another hallway. "If Krishna gets a hold of you, then it's all over for you for good!" she panted as she continued running. "Besides, David can take care of himself," she voiced, trying to convince herself as well as Elisa. Both knew that it was useless because after seeing him take down a trained gargoyles warrior and one of Oberon's children, a mere mortal didn't stand much of a chance.

Sighing, Fox turned yet another corner and then came to a sudden stop. "What?..." Elisa began, but stopped immediately once she looked forward. They were at a dead end. "Where are we?" Elisa asked quickly, eager now to get away from Krishna as fast as possible.

"I.. I don't know," Fox confessed slowly as she looked around the dimly lit hall uncertainly.

"You don't know?" Elisa asked skeptically, turning to face Fox in disbelief. "You own this fricking castle! You live here and now you're telling me we're lost?!"

"Hey, this is a big castle.. I've never been down this hallway before," Fox trailed off.

"Well, let's keep moving! The only thing down here is a door and we don't want to be caught in a room," Elisa said grimly, her pale face glowing in the candle light as she turned to head back to the last turn in the hallways.

Turning, Fox started to follow the Detective, noting with an experienced eye the way that Elisa started moving slower and was using the wall more and more for support. ~Not now~ she murmured quietly to herself. Sure enough, her observations were proven correct when the Detective suddenly collapsed in the hallway, only a few paces down the dead end passageway. Moving quickly, Fox ran up to the fallen detective and helped her up, putting one arm around the weak detective's waist.

"Sorry.. guess I didn't get as much rest as I thought," Elisa mumbled quietly, ashamed at her lack of strength when she really needed it.

"It's not your fault that Krishna's been sucking you dry," Fox said, trying in vain to comfort the detective. "Although, this does mean that running is now out of the question. Come on," she said, leading the detective back down the hallway.

"But this is a dead end," Elisa argued as she leaned heavily on the fiery red head.

"I know, but it looks as though we have no other choice than to try and hide out-meaning   
that now would be a good time to figure out what's behind that door you mentioned."

Sighing, Elisa knew that she was right. Moving as quick as possible, they quickly retraced their steps and opened the darkly paneled door that was almost hidden in the candlelight. Throwing the door open, Fox and Elisa entered quickly and then closed the door behind them. "I can't see a thing," Elisa muttered as she stepped away from Fox and leaned against the door.

"Hold on a sec," Fox muttered. In a matter of seconds, the room was then filled with bright light.

Frowning, Elisa quickly covered her eyes and waited for them to adjust. "Electric lighting?" she asked quickly, a small smirk covering her face.

"Nothing but the best for David," Fox replied, returning the smile. Turning, she quickly looked around the room, a bed chamber of sorts. A large antique bed stood against the wall to their left, with two bed tables flanking it on either side--a telephone sitting prominently on one. To the right was a large bureau standing next to another door, while straight ahead was a large balcony window, covered by heavy drapes.

"The door?" Elisa asked quickly, tilting her head towards the right.

"A bathroom," Fox guess, relying on the lay out of the rest of the bed chambers found in the castle. Turning, Fox quickly started walking towards the bed table and picked up the phone. Sighing in resignation, she then replaced the receiver. "Dead," she muttered to herself.

Hearing, Elisa's ironic smirk returned. "Spared no expense, but forgot to hook up the telephones?"

Ignoring the detective's comment, Fox hurried around the bed and to the draped windows. Straining, she reached up and pulled the heavy red curtains to the side, revealing a large balcony door which also let in the light of the starry sky of the night. Smiling, Fox quickly opened the door and stepped up to the iron rail that stood at the door's edge, hoping for a nearby window, ledge, or something that could provide escape. Sighing, she felt the smile pull into a frown as she realized that there was nothing. Turning, she saw that Elisa was still leaning against the closed wooden door, a forlorn look on her face. "You know, you could help out here!" Fox snapped, her face red as she tried to think of something that could save them both.

"Fox, it's useless now. You need to get away and save yourself!" Elisa whispered quietly as she walked unsteadily across the brick floor to stand beside Fox at the window.

Frustrated, Fox moved away to stand to the left of the door. "How can you say that!"

"You need to save yourself," Elisa repeated, some strength coming to her voice with the words.

"You wouldn't leave me, and I'm not about to leave you!" Fox retorted.

"Listen, I can't help you or protect you when Krishna finds me... I don't know what he could do to you!" Elisa said, a spark in her dark eyes.

"Protect me?" Fox asked in disbelief, a smile crossing her face. "Detective Maza, I'm here to help and protect you!"

"But you can't do either.. no one can..."

"But.."

"You have Alex to think of! He needs his mother.."

"I'm doing this for Alex! He doesn't need a mother that will run the minute that someone needs help.. that's the way I was, and I've changed.. I'm not going back to that life!" Fox said bitterly. "Besides, it's too late to go back now."

"Look, you can hide in the bathroom then," Elisa said quietly, touched yet more afraid than ever. She wouldn't be able to handle it if more people were hurt because of her. It was bad enough to hear from Goliath that Matt was hurt and being sent to the hospital, but then to see Krishna take out one of her friends after another: Bronx, Hudson, Puck... even Xanatos! All the while she just stood there and watched!

Before Fox had a chance to respond, the door beside her suddenly burst open, wood splinters falling everywhere. Shocked, Elisa backed up till she was leaning against the iron rail of the balcony. Then, the small light fixture on the ceiling of the room exploded, leaving the room lit only with the stars of the night sky. There before her stood her worst nightmare illuminated in this way: Krishna with his black hair and clothes rustling in the dark night air, his dark eyes a smoldering red. As those eyes met Elisa's, she saw his expression soften slightly.

"Why do you run from me, my love?" Krishna asked quietly as he slowly entered the room and started walking across the large room, his eyes focused on those of his beloved.

"I am NOT your love!" Elisa cried out bitterly, pushing back further against the railing, her black hair swirling in the cool night breeze.

Sighing, Krishna shook his head briefly. "It does not matter, for you are MY love. It's time for us to go back to the castle... this night you shall become like me and stand by my side for the rest of eternity."

"Fuck off!" Elisa yelled at him, her eyes flashing in the dark room. "I don't want to become one of your blood-sucking species! And I never will either!"

Just then, Elisa saw movement in the corner of her eye. Turning slightly, she watched in horror as Fox snuck behind Krishna in order to launch a surprise attack. Unfortunately, Krishna followed her eyes' movement. Before she could yell out a warning, Krishna flicked his wrist behind him. With an unseen hand, Fox was thrown violently against the brick wall above the antique bed, her head smashing against the stones before she fell to the bed.

"No!" Elisa yelled, her face tightening in fury. Running with a speed she thought she had lost with her strength, Elisa moved over to the bed and knelt beside her one time enemy. Already she could see the large bump forming on the back of the ex-Pack member's head and a small trickle of blood trailing down her forehead. To her relief, she saw the even rise and fall of Fox's chest, proving that she was just unconscious. "You asshole!" Elisa cursed as she turned to send Krishna the worst glare to could manage.

Stepping back slightly at the venom in Elisa's voice, Krishna quickly recovered his composure and said, "This mortal shall not die. After all, I have been staying true to my vow to you that never again shall another innocent mortal be killed by my hand... although the innocence of many of your 'friends' is still to be determined.... and some of your friends, it seems, are not even human."

"But they are mortal, and therefore apply to your vow!" Elisa added quickly, worry crossing her face.

Quirking his eyebrows in disbelief, Krishna replied, "And here I thought that you didn't care about my vows to you."

Speechless, Elisa just stared dumbly at Krishna's skeptical look. "Ah well, it's unimportant right now, for it's time to leave back to Castle Granite, my and your temporary home," he amended quickly and began walking towards Elisa.

"No!" Elisa yelled with determination as she climbed shakily to her feet. It didn't matter to her that she was so weak that she could fall at any moment. If Krishna thought that he could drag her away from the castle with no protest, then he was wrong! She would fight as hard and as long as she could. Moving faster than she thought was possible in her condition, Elisa half jumped half scampered over Fox and to the other side of the bed and bolted for the ruined doorway into the hallway.

Using his super-human speed though, Krishna intercepted her path and grabbed her arms firmly, locking his dark eyes with hers. Still, this didn't stop Elisa, but instead caused her to change directions.

Stepping back until there was a sizable distance between them, Elisa then relied on his strength by leaning back as far as she could and used that momentum to swing her right leg up and forward, catching Krishna in the face. Stunned, but not hurt, Krishna let go of Elisa's arms and stepped back. Expecting this, Elisa quickly landed on both feet, regained her balance, and then launched another kick, this time her famous round house, right into Krishna's face.

Both of these quick attacks occurred in a matter of seconds, but they were all that she needed for neither of them were expected by Krishna. Stunned even further, he fell back against the far wall and onto the ground, banging his head against the closed bathroom door. Moving quickly, Elisa turned to run from the room... which was when her body acted against her. The well of strength she had been relying on had finally run dry. Gasping, Elisa felt the strength go out of her legs as she quickly reached for a nearby wall for support.

That pause was all that Krishna needed to regain his footing and reach Elisa's side. Not giving her another chance to attack, he quickly wrapped his strong arms around her back and pinned her arms to her chest, pulling her back against his. The revised bear hug was all it took, for in Elisa's condition--or in any condition--she had no way to fight him.. he was just too strong.

"No! Let me go!" Elisa screamed in frustration as she wiggled and squirmed violently in his arms.

Grunting, Krishna held her tighter against him and lifted her higher in the air till her feet were dangling. This did nothing to stop her but instead freed up her legs to kick wildly in the air, trying in vain to aim a back kick and nail him in the legs.

"Hold... still!" Krishna grunted as one of her legs made contact with his.

"Bite me!" Elisa retorted, accidentally reverting back to some slang she heard used quite often at the station. Right away she realized the implied connotations.

"I'm afraid that will have to wait, my dear, until after we return to the castle," Krishna said, confused that she was actually asking him to do it. Could it be that she was beginning to like the draining process? He knew that he sure did and that it was taking every bit of restraint and self-control he had in order to prevent himself from doing just that. After all, he was going crazy by the sight of her long slender neck, the scent of warm blood in the air from the meddling mortal, and the struggle that his beloved was putting up.

"LET ME GO!" Elisa yelled even louder, while she continued the struggle to be released.

Sighing, Krishna knew that there was nothing to be done about this. He didn't want to take the time to tie her up, could drain her to put her to sleep, his hypnosis trick wouldn't work, and knocking her unconscious was out of the question. "Would you please stop that wailing!" Krishna cried out in frustration as he began half carrying/half dragging her backwards towards the open balcony window and escape.

"LET ME GO!!" Elisa screamed as she started wiggling, squirming, fighting, and ultimately making it more difficult for Krishna to drag her away.

"Women," Krishna muttered darkly as he continued across the room. He couldn't help but wonder if perhaps the cavemen of his ancestors were right after all in clubbing the women in the heads and then dragging them by the hair.

"No!" Elisa moaned as he dragged her to the edge of the balcony and began rising into the dark night sky. Raising her head, she saw that Fox was starting to regain consciousness and was staring at the two groggily. Sadly, Elisa knew that she would be of no help to her, except for in one way--she had to let her know where to send Goliath and reinforcements.. they were her final hope. Then again, she had to do this without letting Krishna know what she had done.

As Krishna turned and began to fly into the dark night sky, Elisa strained and turned until she was peering behind her at the balcony window. There stood Fox, a horror-stricken expression on her face. "Fox!" Elisa screamed. "Goliath come dawn! Goliath come dawn!" she yelled. Now it was up to Fox to remember and for Goliath to figure it out.

* * * * *

Groaning, Fox watched as the detective disappeared from sight in the dark night sky. "Goliath come dawn?" she asked herself in confusion, absently running her hand through her long, fiery red hair. A sudden stickiness broke her concentration. Surprised, she quickly drew her hand away from her head, barely able to make out a red smear in the weak light of the moon and stars. "I'm bleeding," she mumbled to herself. With the thought of blood came the thought of her husband. "Oh God, David!" she whispered frantically. Turning, Fox limped as fast as she could out of the room and down the dark hallways.. her thoughts on the unknown condition of her husband... and also on Elisa's final words before she disappeared into the night: Goliath come dawn.

******************************************************************************

Castle Wyvern - 9:15pm

As the moon rose even higher in the darkly lit night sky, Goliath descended rapidly to the moon washed courtyard of Castle Wyvern. "Elisa!" he yelled frantically as he ran towards the door of the Great Hall. Gasping, he noted that there really was nothing left of the doors to the Great Hall. Picking up his pace, and with his heart in his throat, he quickly entered the brightly lit room, astonished at the massive devastation around him.

The first thing he noticed was the wood that was scattered everywhere, most likely from what was left of the door. Next there was the large table that usually occupied the center of the large hall... it was gone. Looking around in confusion, he finally located the table: it was now sitting on its end with the legs of the table imbedded in the brick wall. Turning, Goliath next saw Bronx, unconscious and laying on the ground by the upturned table. Next there was the almighty Puck, laying on the floor where the table used to be sitting, bound in what looked like iron chains, his face paler than ever. And lastly there was Fox, kneeling in one corner of the room, her hair an even fiery red from what looked to be blood, with Xanatos's head in her lap. From where he was standing, it seemed as though the billionaire was unconscious and had blood trailing down his forehead, his clothes and hair rumpled, pale face, and a smear of blood on his neck. The last time that Goliath had been stunned into such silence was only at the massacre of Wyvern.

Feeling rather than hearing, Goliath realized that Broadway and Brooklyn were now standing behind him, finally having caught up with their leader. Turning around, Goliath saw that they too were in a state of shock at the destruction of the large room.

"Fox..." Goliath stuttered quietly, breaking out of his reverie and moving across the great room till he was kneeling at her side.

As she turned her eyes to meet Goliath's, he could see that they were slightly unfocused, a definite sign that she needed to see a doctor. "Goliath.. we need help," Fox murmured quietly as she ran her hand over her husband's face tenderly.

"Fox, what happened here?" Goliath asked, moving his hand to indicate the devastated room, noting that Broadway had moved over to check on Bronx while Brooklyn had moved to the trickster's side.

"Krishna.. he came.. we.. we tried to stop him," she replied, strength entering her voice once more. "Hudson.. Hudson is pinned behind the table over there-I don't know if he's alright," she added. "And Puck.. those are iron.. you need to get the chains off of him, Brooklyn, they're hurting him. And you need to help me.. we have to get David to the infirmary. I think he's going to be alright, but he's not waking up and I think that monster drank... I think he drank his blood!" Fox said quickly, panic starting to enter her voice as she looked at her husband's still form.

"We'll help," Goliath promised, trying to soothe the distraught woman. "But where's Elisa?" he asked grimly.

At the mention of Elisa's name, Fox's face instantly saddened. "David tried to occupy Krishna while we got out of there, but it was a dead end and Krishna found us. He.. he took Elisa."

Goliath knew that those words were coming, but they still managed to scare him to his very being all the same. As he got to his feet slowly, Goliath turned and began walking towards the cool night air.

"Goliath.." Brooklyn broke in suddenly.

"Brooklyn, I want you and Broadway to stay here and help them out. Free Hudson and Puck, and then make sure that Fox and Xanatos get to the infirmary," Goliath broke in, handing out the instructions quickly as he picked up his pace.

"But where are you going? You don't know where she's been taken.."

"I know that it's either Blarney Castle or Granite Castle... I'll just try to find one and then the other."

"But.."

"When you and the others finish here, come and try to help," Goliath interrupted.

Reluctantly, Brooklyn nodded his agreement and watched as Goliath reached the remains of the door. Suddenly Fox's voice rang out in the room. "Goliath, wait!"

Turning, Goliath waited impatiently. "What?"

"As Krishna was taking her, she yelled something strange..."

"What?" Goliath asked again, only this time with more patience and some anticipation.

"She said 'Goliath come dawn'."

"Goliath come dawn?" Brooklyn asked in confusion.

"Maybe she was trying to tell you not to come and find her until dawn," Broadway suggested to Goliath, who stood in the doorway, pondering her words.

"Why would she do that?" Brooklyn asked critically.

"Because he's a vampire.. he's probably asleep by then!" Broadway explained.

"Don't be stupid! It'll probably be too late by then!" Brooklyn quickly retorted, wincing at the pessimism of his words and at the grimace on Goliath's face.

"Well, what else could it mean?" Broadway asked, embarrassed by his rookery brother's sharp retort.

"She probably didn't want to give anything away to Krishna, and therefore disguised her message..." Goliath thought out loud.

"But what would she be wanting to tell us.. besides where he's taking her!" Brooklyn cried excitedly.

"Maybe Krishna told her whether it was Blarney Castle or Granite Castle!" Broadway agreed, a smile lighting up his face. "But what does 'Goliath come dawn' mean?" he asked, his smile faltering.

"Goliath," Fox broke in suddenly, surprising them all, "what are you 'come dawn?'"

"I turn to stone," Goliath said, realization entering his face.

"And what is a type of stone?" she asked quickly, proving to all of them that she wasn't as far gone as they thought she was.

"Granite..." Goliath breathed, a look of determination crossing his face.

"Smart thinking," Brooklyn commented to Fox, smiling at their one-time enemy.

"Brooklyn, when you're no longer needed here, go to Granite Castle!" Goliath instructed as he turned and left the room.

"But where's Granite Castle?!" Brooklyn called after his back. When he got no answer, he quickly shook his head and mumbled, "Probably doesn't even know himself."

******************************************************************************

Granite Castle - 11:30pm

"Krishna, why are you doing this?" Elisa asked wearily as she fought to stay awake-most of the fight leaving her voice as the weariness built up inside of her. She no longer even had the energy to lift her head from the bed to look at her captor. In all honesty, this was her fault.

Throughout the duration of the flight to Krishna's castle, Elisa had fought, wormed, and struggled. The thought of what would happen when she arrived was enough to drive her and make her ignore the consequences should Krishna actually drop her. The plummet would be long and there was no chance she would survive the fall--then again, the peace that death would bring would be far better than the life that he had in mind for her. Now, all of that energy she had gained from her sleep and a night without being fed upon was gone, leaving her even more tired.

As soon as they had arrived at the castle, Krishna landed softly on a wide balcony with warm light spilling out from the glass doors. Ignoring his "love's" protests, he opened the doors and stepped into the candle lit room. Moving quickly, Krishna crossed the large room and laid Elisa gently on the bed.

From there her memories were foggy. She must have fallen asleep, because when she awoke, she found herself leaning against the back bed rest of the bed. Only now she was wearing a deep, burgundy color gown that fit tight around her waist and then blossomed up around her bust line, and then fell down into luscious swirls around her feet--a perfect fit--instead of her jeans and tee shirt. "What the hell?" was her muttered reply to her change in attire as she tried to wake up more.

Krishna's reply? "I thought you would be more comfortable... don't worry, you look gorgeous.. simply to die for."

Ignoring his comment, Elisa had leaned back against the hard wood in a weak attempt to conserve what little strength she had while Krishna busied himself by the fire place. Groaning, she looked around and caught a glimpse of stone floors and walls, covered with rich tapestries and soft carpets in an attempt to make the room more cozy. The only furniture to be seen was the large bed in the middle of the room opposite the large balcony doors, the fire place to the right of the bed, and a large wooden chair to the right. The room was lit only by the growing fire in front of Krishna and about three candle holders hanging in strategic places around the room with four to five candles each. "What, no romantic music?" Elisa asked sarcastically as she turned wearily to stare up at the ceiling.

Sighing, Krishna turned from his place in front of the fire place. "I thought that we would make our own music tonight, my love," Krishna replied, ignoring her sarcastic bite. Getting to his feet, he moved across the room, his dark eyes catching and holding her own. "Now, who is this Goliath that you keep mentioning?... and don't tell me your cat," he said, flashing a smile that barely concealed his sharp teeth.

Knowing that it was no use lying, Elisa sighed and stared into the fire wearily. "He's a good friend of mine."

"A good friend?" Krishna asked in amusement as he sat close by Elisa's side, teasing her hear with his hand. "Is that all that this Goliath is to you? A good friend? And would this 'friend' of yours be of human or gargoyles nature?"

Ignoring Krishna's questions, Elisa surprised him by turning her head quickly and meeting his dark stare. "Who is Sita?" she asked boldly, daring him to hold her own riveting stare.

He couldn't. Gasping slightly, Krishna bolted away from Elisa as though she had burned him with her words. "How.. how do you know of her?!" Krishna asked in amazement as he stared at his new love with wide eyes, his breathing shallow and rapid.

"You've whispered her name before... when.. when you were draining me. Who are Sita, Alexis, and Driedal?" Elisa persisted, her voice insistent as all color left Krishna's face at the mention of those names. "You've whispered them all at one point or another. Alexis and Driedal some, with a longing in your voice, but Sita the most.. sometimes softly and other times harshly with hatred. Who are they?" Elisa asked, her voice turning soft at the lost expression on Krishna's face. Seeing that expression and hearing her voice turn soft, Elisa immediately put a block up on her heart, knowing that his next words would touch her to her core, and that in order to protect herself, she would have to listen but not listen at the same time. She would have to repeat to herself over and over what a monster he was and always will be. A monster.

"Sita... Sita is the vampire who made me...."

"And where is this vampire? I thought that the person you made was to be your love that would stand by your side till the end of time... won't she be jealous that you're making another?" Elisa asked sarcastically.

"No she won't be," Krishna replied quietly, the sad and aching sound of his voice shaking Elisa to the core. "She's dead. Many centuries ago she found that she could no longer live in this existence and walked into the sunlight... leaving me alone."

"I..." Elisa stuttered quietly, trying her best to keep her heart shielded from his pain. She couldn't.. COULDN'T feel sympathy for this monster. "And... and Alexis and Driedal?" Elisa continued, feeling her voice soften, almost wishing that she didn't ask; already knowing the answer.

"Ah..." Krishna hissed quietly, pain flashing across his handsome face. "Before Sita changed me over, I was a guard at a castle in Italy," Krishna began quietly, a faraway look entering his eyes. "Alexis was my wife," he continued simply. "She was beautiful and young... she was my love. Actually, she gave me this cross as a gift a few weeks before..." Krishna said, trailing off as he held up the delicate gold cross that he always wore on a small gold chain around his neck. "Together we had one son, Driedal. We were happy and living a simple life together... until Sita changed me," Krishna said quietly. "She took me away from my family and found that I was one of the destined ones. Giving me no choice, she changed me.. I never saw Alexis or Driedal again. I found out many years later that they were killed under mysterious circumstances.. all of their blood drained," Krishna said, a single blood red tear dripping down his face. "They died thinking that I abandoned them and by the hand of my new 'love.' This cross is the only thing that remains of them besides their memories that I will always have and cherish."

"I.. I'm sorry," Elisa whispered, tears coming to her own eyes at Krishna's tale. "But don't you see? How can you take me away from my family, friends, and the life that I love? You'd just be doing to me what Sita did to you!" Elisa argued frantically, a glimmer of hope entering her eyes. "You must have hated Sita for what she did to you..."

"No," Krishna argued quickly. "It's true, that I did hate Sita for a long time, but she was right... eventually that hate changed to love as I became her companion and all that I knew and loved changed.. the world changed with me."

"But I wouldn't change like you did!"

"Everyone does over time... you'll get over your anger and that anger will turn to love..."

"No!" Elisa screamed suddenly, breaking the quiet of the room. She had almost lost to him.. almost. All the anger and hatred she felt for him was turning to pity and sympathy... a poor soul that was changed against his will and forced into a life that he never wanted. He couldn't possibly help being the way he was... but then a picture of young Jamie Peterson popped into her mind's eye. He's a monster. "I could never love you!" Elisa screamed and she quickly slid to the other side of the bed. Moving purely on instinct, Elisa tried to dodge Krishna and head for the balcony doors. Of course, the plan was both stupid and pointless, for not only did she trip on the long skirts, but her strength wasn't there. Luckily, or unluckily, Krishna was right there to catch her in his strong arms and prevent her from hitting the hard stone floor.

"You will learn to love me," Krishna whispered harshly in her ear, his hot breath causing her heart to beat rapidly in fear. "You have no choice, for I will not be alone any longer!"

Smiling the evil grin that Elisa was learning to recognize and fear, Krishna slowly rose to his feet, pulling Elisa up as well. "No," Elisa murmured, her heart beat taking off as she saw the look of hunger enter his eyes.

"It's time my love," Krishna said, his eyes staring deep into hers. Pulling Elisa close so that her body was smashed against his, Krishna made sure to keep one strong arm securely wrapped around her upper torso, pinning her arms to her side and pulling her closer against him.

She didn't have the strength to fight him any more and he knew it. As Krishna slowly and teasingly rubbed his other hand against the side of her face, Elisa closed her eyes tightly and felt the first of her tears drip down her smooth cheek and over his hands.

Grinning broadly, Krishna slowly and gently turned her face to the side, exposing her long curved neck. Sighing, Krishna inhaled her sweet scent before slowly lowering his lips to her throat. This had to be pleasure defined.

Making sure to draw it out to the very fullest, Krishna lovingly kissed her hot skin over the throbbing vein he was about to open; teasing her skin with his warm tongue. Whether she knew it or not, her low moan of distress was only making him more excited. Finally, unable to withstand the call of her flesh any longer, Krishna opened his mouth and pierced her soft skin with his sharpened teeth, reveling in the sensation of her skin parting and breaking under his force. Sighing, Krishna smashed her body against his as he felt her tense under the stinging pain of his teeth, her breath exploding forcefully as her breasts, barely restrained by the bodice of the dress, heaved against his tightly muscled chest.

Still playing the game of drawing things out, Krishna kept his jaw locked into place with his teeth punctured into her neck, drawing out the sensation of the blood trapped behind his teeth, unable to exit the vein quite yet; loving every minute of Elisa's labored breathing as she felt the two sharp canine teeth pierced in her skin, the insistent stinging pain as he left them there, making her wait for what she knew would come next. She didn't have to wait long. Once again unable to wait any longer, Krishna pulled back his teeth and pressed his mouth firmly against Elisa's neck as her warm, sweet blood poured forth from the two wounds. Groaning, Krishna lowered his arms till he was able to intersect his hands low around the base of her back, touching her soft skin and pulling her tight against his chest.

Reveling in the taste, Krishna drank greedily, knowing that this time there would be no restraint and that he could drink until there was no more and her heart beat its last. Smashing her even tighter as the wave of pure pleasure rolled through his being, Krishna felt as Elisa shifted her arms till one hand wrapped itself loosely around his neck and as the other slid lower till it too was holding his back and pulling their bottom halves together while she trusted his strength to hold her as she let her head tip backwards, exposing her throat further; all the while moaning her pleasure.

Groaning once more, Krishna slowly dropped down to his knees as he felt the strength give out in Elisa's legs. Shifting slightly, he easily rearranged himself so that Elisa was lying out on the floor, her upper torso supported under his cradling left arm while his right hand eagerly massaged Elisa's chest; never once breaking his hold on her neck as he continued to drink his love's life force. As Krishna felt her heartbeat began to slow, he knew that her eyes would be closing sleepily and her grip would relax. He was almost finished; she was almost his for eternity.

Suddenly, Krishna heard glass shattering behind him. As his eyes bolted open and he lifted his head from Elisa's neck, he heard a loud, anguish filled roar let loose throughout the room. Stunned, Krishna didn't even have a chance to turn and face the intruder before he felt the bite of sharp claw-like talons pierce the sides of his arm as the intruder lifted him into the air and tossed him easily like a sack of potatoes against the far wall by the fire place. Groaning, and holding his head in pain, Krishna looked up from the hard brick floor and looked at his attacker: kneeling beside his beloved was another gargoyle... another far bigger gargoyle that he recognized from the picture of his beloved and the stone statue at Elisa's apartment. "Goliath..." Krishna hissed.

* * * * *

Struggling to contain his fear, Goliath knelt slowly beside Elisa on the carpeted floor of the candle lit room. She was so pale... her pale complexion set off by the dark red dress she was wearing and by the smear of blood on her neck. Tentatively, Goliath slowly reached out a shaking hand and touched the fresh blood. Seeing his blood stained finger tips was enough to brake the restraints on him as he quickly gathered his Elisa into his arms, Krishna completely forgotten. He couldn't be too late.. he couldn't! "Elisa?" he asked quietly, praying for a response.

His prayers were answered as Elisa's eyes slowly fluttered open. Focusing slowly, a small smile lit up her beautiful face. "Goliath," Elisa whispered.

"I'm so sorry.. I..." Goliath stuttered as a large smile lit up his face. He couldn't believe that she was alright... this was twice in the last couple of months where he thought that he had lost her for good. Twice too many times.

"Shh, I'm alright," Elisa soothed, wincing suddenly at a stinging pain where she had been bitten. Suddenly, her eyes went wide with fear as she tried to bolt up. Surprised, Goliath restrained her and forced her back into a laying position. "Where.. where's Krishna?" Elisa gasped quickly.

"He's right.. over.." Goliath trailed off as he turned towards the wall by the fire place where he threw the hated vampire. He wasn't there. Suddenly alert, Goliath quickly got to his feet and started to turn. Standing directly behind him stood Krishna, his eyes glowing red.

"I don't like to be interrupted," Krishna said haughtily before shoving his hands forward, sending Goliath flying straight into the wooden chair. Splinters of the heavy wood flew everywhere, causing Elisa to duck her head as one leg of the chair speared into the ground next to her.

"Goliath!" Elisa gasped as she saw Goliath land hard on the brick floor, a low groan escaping his mouth. She had to help him! Quickly, Elisa tried to get to her feet and come to his assistance but found that she was just too weak. Straining, she didn't even make it to her knees before she tumbled weakly back onto the carpeted floor. Crying out in frustration, Elisa watched as Krishna slowly advanced on Goliath, allowing him time to stand up from the rubble and confront him.

Roaring, Goliath suddenly charged the vampire with outstretched talons. "You will not have Elisa!"

Unfortunately for Goliath, Krishna saw that one coming and easily blocked the blow and retaliated with a viscous kick to Goliath's side.

"Krishna, no!" Elisa screamed as she once again weakly pushed herself up onto her hands, only to have them cave in beneath her. The drainage was almost complete, meaning that Elisa had no energy or strength whatsoever. It took most of her reserve just to fight the constant battle to stay awake and keep herself from giving into the powerful call of the darkness. Groaning, Elisa could only lay there and watch as Goliath and Krishna duked it out. Unfortunately, she already knew what the outcome would be: no matter how strong and powerful Goliath was, no one was a match for Krishna and his vampire strength, agility, and speed. As Goliath flew into yet another wall, Elisa felt a warm drop on her arm. Looking down, she saw that it was a drop of blood.. a drop of her blood. "Oh God, I'm still bleeding," Elisa murmured as she raised a shaky hand to touch her neck. Relying on her cop training, Elisa knew that she had to stop the bleeding, and the best way to do that was by applying pressure to the wound. Easier said than done. Not only did Elisa not have enough energy to stand and aid Goliath, but she didn't even have enough energy to apply pressure to her own wound. Laughing bitterly, Elisa watched as Goliath hit another wall and tumbled to the ground, her vision starting to go hazy. "I'm in the midst of a vampire and I'm going to bleed to death," she laughed. "Now isn't that irony for you."

Another loud crash drew her attention. Goliath was lying on the ground by the fireplace, half unconscious and bleeding from small scratches on different places on his body. Beside him towered Krishna, looking as though not a hair was out of place. Laughing, Krishna delivered another savage kick to Goliath's side, causing Elisa to wince with Goliath. "You're not going to save Elisa, you monster! She's mine!" he yelled evilly as he reached down and grabbed Goliath by the neck and lifted him in the air, pinning him against the brick wall. "Heaven has been denied to me, but I wonder if gargoyles are welcome or if you go to hell," Krishna asked of Goliath, his eyes burning the color of blood.

Ignoring his wicked comments, Goliath instead chose to stare back over Krishna's shoulder where Elisa lay in the middle of a small pool of her own blood. She was in trouble. He knew deep down that he had no way of saving her anymore; he just couldn't beat Krishna, which meant that as soon as Krishna finished him off, Elisa would be changed into one of him. Then again, from the looks of it, Elisa seemed to be still bleeding and she was running low. From where he was pinned, he could see how her dark, soulful eyes were starting to glaze over. Still, Elisa met his stare, and he watched as her lips mouthed one word, "sorry."

"Time to say goodnight to the dark night sky... there was only meant to be one creature of the night, and it seems as though I am him," Krishna replied darkly as he drew back his hand, preparing himself for the final blow that would cause darkness to fall forever on Goliath.

"No! Krishna, no!" Elisa screamed, seeing the scene unfold before her and knowing what was to happen.

Surprising her, Krishna paused his arm and turned to look behind him at his beloved. Her condition surprised him.. he better hurry for it seemed as though his love was slipping away rather rapidly. "And why should I stop? This fool means to stop us from being together..."

"Because I love him," Elisa whispered quietly, meeting Krishna's dark stare and watching as his expression hardened. "You asked me before what I felt for Goliath, and I tell you now. I love him and no other. I could never love you for my heart belongs to Goliath!" she whispered, her voice growing harsh.

"Then he must die," Krishna responded coldly. "I will do for you as Sita did for me... destroy your love so you are left with no one else to love but me."

"No!" Elisa yelled as she watched Krishna turn back to his enemy, once more drawing his fist back. He never was to see exactly what happened next.

As Elisa watched the fist going back, her eyesight caught a hold of something in the corner of her vision: the wooden leg of the broken chair imbedded in the carpeting beside her. Moving faster than she had ever moved before when just moments ago she had no strength and was on the brink of death, Elisa rolled to the side, grabbed the chair leg, and then launched herself into the air, jabbing the improvised stake as hard as she could through Krishna's turned back. As the blood poured from the wound and onto Elisa's hands and dress, Elisa stumbled back and watched as the hold on Goliath was loosened and he tumbled to the floor; and then as Krishna himself stumbled before falling backwards, landing on the stake and sending it the rest of the way through his chest till it came out the front in the area over his heart.

Crying out, Elisa felt the strength once more give way from her legs as she tumbled to the ground. As the tears streamed down her face, she couldn't help but drag her aching body slowly across the short distance till she was by Krishna's side. Meeting his eyes, she watched as his skin became pale, his black shirt darkened with his evil blood, and as he gasped for breath. With jerky movements, he quickly reached up and tore the chain loose from around his neck and then shoved it into her fist, closing it tight around the jewelry. Gasping, he then whispered "Thank you" before the light left his eyes and he grew limp. He was at peace.. finally.

Sighing, Elisa cradled the necklace against her as she once more let her head fall down as the last of the strength she had found hidden in that last reservoir was finally used up, leaving her with nothing. As her cheek rested against the soft carpeting, one thought broke free from the fog that was encasing her mind: I'm dying. Suddenly she felt soft, gentle hands on her body as she was turned onto her back and a hand was pressed tightly against the wound on her throat. Straining, Elisa slowly opened her eyes and looked into the dimming light of the room; straight into Goliath's warm eyes.

"Elisa... I.. we need to get you to a hospital.." Goliath said quickly as he looked at her in panic.

"No.. Goliath... too late," Elisa said quietly, a small, sad smile causing her full lips to turn upwards.

"No!" Goliath denied quickly, tears filling his eyes at her tired voice. "You're going to be alright!" he urged even as he watched her skin grow paler and some of the light in her eyes fade.

"No, I'm not.." Elisa whispered, the same sad smile on her face as she stared into his caring eyes. "I'm sorry.. Goliath..."

"You.."

"I love you," Elisa interrupted as she slowly drifted down, her eyes closing and her breathing going shallow.

She was dying. "I love you, Elisa," Goliath mumbled, admitting now what he could never admit before as he felt the thrum of her heartbeat slow till he could barely feel the pulse through the vein in her neck. Closing his eyes so he couldn't see her paling face, Goliath turned his head to the side. When he opened them, Krishna's still and bleeding body lay in his vision... his wound allowing his still-warm blood to escape.. his black, evil blood... that had ways of restoring Elisa's health in the past!

Mentally kicking himself for not thinking of it sooner, Goliath quickly moved next to Krishna. How to do this? The most direct way... Moving quickly, Goliath grabbed one of Krishna's arms and dragged the cooling corpse next to Elisa. Grimacing, he then lifted one of the heavy arms till he was holding it next to Elisa's bitten neck.. and then paused. "But what if his blood was all that was needed to change her over?" Goliath thought out loud. Elisa would never forgive him if he changed her into one of them.. but wasn't it worth the chance in order to save her? Looking at Elisa, he saw that her chest was barely rising any more, showing that the end was definitely near.. he had to decide now. Should he or shouldn't he? Shaking his head, Goliath quickly pulled the stiffening arm out over Elisa's neck once more and then made a small slit in the skin with one of his talons. Almost instantly a small pool of blood formed. Careful to keep it away from his own skin, Goliath allowed one small drop of the blood to fall from Krishna's skin; onto the bite marks from Krishna's sharp teeth. Holding his breath, Goliath watched patiently as the blood did it's work. Almost instantly, the wounds closed over and disappeared till there were no marks left to show where a wound had ever been. Slowly, very slowly, he then noticed as some of the color returned to Elisa's cheeks and her breathing quickened till it's normal place. Shoving the body aside, Goliath moved till he was once more kneeling beside Elisa, and watched in fascination as her eye lids fluttered open.

"Goliath?" Elisa asked weakly as her eyes focused once more on his face towering over her.

Smiling broadly, Goliath quickly reached down and gathered Elisa into his arms, holding her tightly against him. As the tears pooled in his eyes once more, this time from happiness, he held her head against his shoulder, inhaling the scent of her hair.. of her: alive.

"Ah.. Goliath?" Elisa gasped against his shoulder. "Ah, I can't breathe!" she laughed quietly. Smiling in confusion, she pulled away from the gargoyle leader and laughed at the goofy expression on his face. "Goliath, what's going on?" she asked in amazement, scratching something sticky on her neck. Surprised, she quickly drew her hand away and stared in amazement at the crimson streak on her hand. Gasping, Elisa quickly jumped away from Goliath and then got to her feet, looking down in amazement at the blood soaked dress she was wearing and then at the strange room she was in. "Goliath, why am I covered in blood? Whose blood is this? Is this mine? Where are we? What's going on?" Elisa asked quickly, her voice rising in panic.

"Elisa," Goliath interjected quickly, jumping to his feet and grabbing her hands in his. ~She doesn't remember... of course she didn't remember! All it takes is a drop of Krishna's blood is to wipe her memories~ Goliath realized quickly.

"Goliath, what-" Elisa started, then cut off suddenly as her eyes caught a hold of a pair of feet lying on the floor behind Goliath. As her eyes grew wide, Elisa slowly walked around Goliath and stared at the body lying on the floor. "Krishna..." she mumbled quietly as the strength once more left her legs and she began to tumble to the ground, the memories flooding her mind once more.

Moving quickly, Goliath caught Elisa in his arms and lifted her up into the air, her head cradled against one of his massive arms. "Shh," Goliath soothed as he turned as walked towards the shattered remains of the balcony door. "Sleep now, Elisa.. sleep," he commanded as he watched her eyes flutter shut once more--this time into sleep.

Sighing, Goliath moved out into the dark night and breathed in the cool air. Winter was coming.

"Goliath!"

Looking up into the dark night sky, Goliath watched as four winged shapes descended   
rapidly onto the stone balcony.

"Goliath, have you found Krishna or Elis..." Brooklyn asked as he landed on the balcony and stepped forward, stopping in his comments as the clouds cleared away from the moon and he was revealed in a bright shaft of moonlight.

"What happened?" Lexington asked, concern covering his face as he took in the bright red scrapes covering Goliath's frame.

"Oh my God, Elisa.. is she?" Angela broke off in concern as she saw the detective cradled in her father's arms. Elisa seemed to be wearing some kind of red gown that was made even redder by the large amounts of blood that was stained all over.

"She sleeps," Goliath rumbled as he met the gargoyles' astonished stares.

"And him?" Broadway asked from the position he took by the shattered doors of the balcony, indicating inside the eerily lit room.

Gasping, Lexington, Brooklyn, and Angela gathered around Broadway in the entrance to the large room, staring in amazement at the destruction that was evident, the blood that was everywhere, and at Krishna's body lying in the middle.

"He is dead."

"Well.. are we going to.. leave him?" Angela asked slowly as she stared at the remains of the handsome man.. vampire.

"No.. burn it.. burn it all," Goliath said slowly as he stared down at Elisa's small frame.

Nodding in agreement, the four gargoyles quickly set to work, and in a matter of minutes, they were once more in the dark sky; a fiery blaze in the remains of Granite Castle at their backs.

******************************************************************************

Castle Wyvern - Two days later, midnight

The night was dark as the clouds shifted higher in the sky, hiding the bright moon from the world below. Now and then, a star or two would peek out from behind their coverings, illuminating the ground for an instant before disappearing and allowing the dark night to reign once more. Sighing, Elisa stood on the tallest tower of the castle as she leaned dangerously far over the stone wall to stare into the night sky. Staring at nothing but something altogether as the wind whipped by fiercely, causing her long black hair to swirl and twist about her in the darkest of dark night skies.

Suddenly there was someone at her side; a soft warm body standing beside her, just close enough that she could feel the warmth of his skin through her layer of jeans and a jacket. Standing straighter, Elisa put her cold, pale hands into the warm pockets of her jacket as she continued to stare in the dark sky. "How is he?"

"Matt is better," Goliath rumbled quietly as he too stared into the darkness, knowing that Elisa needed to search the night... knowing that she needed to do things on her own time and in her own way. "He's been moved from critical condition and given his own room."

"His injuries?..."

"Will heal.. he's expected to return to work for a desk job in a couple of weeks, and will be back on the streets in a month," Goliath answered quietly. Pausing for a moment, Goliath debated on his next words. "Matt.." he began slowly. "He would like for you to visit him... I believe that he's worried for you and hurt that you haven't come to him yet."

At Goliath's words, a soft sigh escaped Elisa's lips, so soft that Goliath wasn't sure if he even heard it. "Tell Matt that I'll visit him.. I'll stop by tomorrow," Elisa finally answered. "I've just had other things on my mind the last couple of nights."

"And.. how are you feeling?" Goliath asked slowly, still staring out into the dark night sky.

"I haven't changed Goliath," Elisa replied with a sad smile, knowing that was what he was really asking. "I'm still tired and weak from the loss of blood, but I'm still me.. still human," she replied.

Nodding his head, Goliath decided to change the subject. "Xanatos will be sending a crew over to your apartment tomorrow to restore it... he said that it will be ready for you by the following day."

"Good... and Cagney?"

"She's with Talon in the Labyrinth."

"Good," Elisa mumbled as the wind increased and her hair swirled about them.

"Elisa.. what is wrong? You've.. you've been quiet and withdrawn ever since we've returned to the castle two nights ago.. the clan is worried," Goliath mumbled quickly, stuttering through his well rehearsed speech as he turned to face his love, hoping that she would face him as well, just so he could see her dark eyes.

Without turning, Elisa continued to stare out into the dark sky, silently debating about whether or not to tell Goliath what was really on her mind.. what's been plaguing her every thought since their return. Would he understand?

"Elisa.. whatever it is... I love you. I always have and I always will love you," Goliath pleaded quietly, reading the doubts she possessed in the way she held herself protectively against the cold night.

Those were the words the she needed to hear. Still, she just couldn't face him as she said this.. she couldn't. "Goliath.. I.. it's Krishna.." Elisa began slowly.

"What about Krishna?" Goliath asked, confusion on his face. "He's dead Elisa, you don't have to be afraid of him anymore!"

"I know he's dead!" Elisa broke in heatedly as she stared into the dark night sky. Quieting her voice, she continued, "I know he's dead, because he died by my hand."

Shaking his head, Goliath knew that he didn't understand.. couldn't understand. "Elisa, I know that.."

"Goliath, I killed him!"

"Yes you did.. and it was the only way.."

"I know that.. but.. but he wasn't all that..." Elisa started in softly.

"Bad?!" Goliath finished for her in disbelief, staring at her dark hair and turned face. "Elisa, how could you say that?! I mean, he killed all of those girls and women, drank from Xanatos, gave Fox a concussion, broke Hudson's wrist, knocked Bronx unconscious, gave Puck iron poisoning when iron is lethal for him, knocked me around, and he.. he almost took you away from me forever..." Goliath finished softly as he laid one hand gently on her arm.

"I know that!" Elisa ground out in frustration. "But he wasn't always like that..." she replied as a single tear slipped down her cheek, quickly followed by another and another. Moving slowly, Elisa lifted her one clenched fist up to her face and opened it slowly, revealing a delicate golden cross lying across her palm. As the tears quickened, Elisa clenched the fist tight again and held it against her lips, thinking all the while of the way Krishna must have been. In all honesty, he was a good person.. an honest man doing an honest living with a wife that he loved dearly and a son that he cherished.. all to be taken away by an evil vampire who was just made evil because of circumstances.. because of the vampire who made her. Krishna himself only turned evil when the loneliness became too great for his being and when he began searching the world for someone to be his companion for eternity: someone to ease the loneliness. "At one point and time, he was a good person.. just like us..." Elisa whispered into the dark night, making Goliath strain to hear her words.

"Like us?" Goliath questioned quickly.

"If we were forced to endure the stuff that he had: being taken away from his wife and child, his whole life turned over, their senseless murders on the hands of his maker, his whole world changing before his eyes with he powerless to stop it till all that he knew and loved was gone and changed and he was forced into a new world, when he was finally able to love again, his love leaves the world by her own hands, then forced to endure centuries alone... all of this piled together is what made him the way he was... and it could have happened to any of us," Elisa whispered quietly.

"Do you wish that he was still alive? That you were with him now?" Goliath asked slowly, the pain this question caused him breaking his strong voice.

"No," Elisa answered quickly and firmly as her eyes focused on a faraway light. "My place is here with you, and it's better off that Krishna is dead... he's finally at peace now, and maybe he has been reunited with his family.... his last words to me were of thanks for ending his painful existence..." Elisa trailed off softly, never turning to face her love.

"Then why do you cry?" Goliath asked quietly as he watched yet another glistening tear slide down the side of her delicate face.

This question seemed to make her pause as she tilted her head off to the side and stared   
into the dark sky, as if looking for the answer there. After a moment of silence, Elisa's soft voice broke the quiet. "I'm crying for the man who died all those centuries ago when he was taken against his will from his wife and child... I cry for the life that he was forced to miss out on and the life he was forced to endure... I cry because I know that if it wasn't for you, I too would be forced into that life," Elisa whispered as she finally turned away from the dark night sky to face her love.

Staring at Elisa's tear streaked face, Goliath knew that this was one love that he would never ever lose.. she was just too precious. Smiling softly, Elisa moved forward and stepped into Goliath's embrace; safe in his warm arms. This time Goliath cried as well; tears of happiness that his Elisa had been spared from the life that Krishna offered her.. tears of happiness that he was blessed with her love.

And they stood in that embrace for many an hour; safe and protected from the world's injustices, hate, and troubles in each others arms... always safe as long as they had each other. For together, nothing could ever harm them again. This the castle inhabitants knew as they watched silently from the lighted windows of the castle, smiles upon their human and gargoyle faces... Elisa's period of mourning was over and now things would go back to normal... well, as normal as life for the protector's of New York City's Manhattan could get.

THE END

If you liked it, loved it, hated it.. just let me know.. I want to know what you're thinking! E-mail me at [Lisette_1@lycos.com][1] Trust me.. all comments, criticisms, flames, and praises are welcome! Thanks for taking the time to read it! :p   


   [1]: mailto:Lisette_1@lycos.com



	2. As Darkness Falls

**"A Pale Comparison: As Darkness Falls"**   
by Lisette--send all comments to: [Lisette_1@lycos.com][1]

Legalese: **GARGOYLES** isn't mine and anything pertaining to them aren't mine as well. Characters that you haven't seen in the TV show are all mine. Any questions? No? Good. :)

Brief Description: What if Krishna's blood was enough to change Elisa... for good?

Warning: May not be suitable for younger readers due to some violent content. Also, since this is part two to "_A Pale Comparison_," it would most likely help to read part one first.

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Previously...

Monday, November 10th

"No!" Elisa yelled as she watched Krishna turn back to his enemy, once more drawing his fist back. He never was to see exactly what happened next. As Elisa watched the fist going back, her eyesight caught a hold of something in the corner of her vision: the wooden leg of the broken chair imbedded in the carpeting beside her. Moving faster than she had ever moved before when just moments ago she had no strength and was on the brink of death, Elisa rolled to the side, grabbed the chair leg, and then launched herself into the air, jabbing the improvised stake as hard as she could through Krishna's turned back. As the blood poured from the wound and onto Elisa's hands and dress, Elisa stumbled back and watched as the hold on Goliath was loosened and he tumbled to the floor; and then Krishna himself stumbled before falling backwards, landing on the stake and sending it the rest of the way through his chest till it came out the front in the area over his heart.

Crying out, Elisa felt the strength once more give way from her legs as she tumbled to the ground. As the tears streamed down her face, she couldn't help but drag her aching body slowly across the short distance till she was by Krishna's side. Meeting his eyes, she watched as his skin became pale, his black shirt darkened with his evil blood, and as he gasped for breath. With jerky movements, he quickly reached up and tore the chain loose from around his neck and then shoved it into her fist, closing it tight around the jewelry. Gasping, he then whispered "Thank you" before the light left his eyes and he grew limp. He was at peace.. finally.

Sighing, Elisa cradled the necklace against her as she once more let her head fall down as the last of the strength she had found hidden in that last reservoir was finally used up, leaving her with nothing. As her cheek rested against the soft carpeting, one thought broke free from the fog that was encasing her mind: I'm dying. Suddenly she felt soft, gentle hands on her body as she was turned onto her back and a hand was pressed tightly against the wound on her throat. Straining, Elisa slowly opened her eyes and looked into the dimming light of the room; straight into Goliath's warm eyes.

"Elisa... I.. we need to get you to a hospital.." Goliath said quickly as he looked at her in panic.

"No.. Goliath... too late," Elisa said quietly, a small, sad smile causing her full lips to turn upwards.

"No!" Goliath denied quickly, tears filling his eyes at her tired voice. "You're going to be alright!" he urged even as he watched her skin grow paler and some of the light in her eyes fade.

"No, I'm not.." Elisa whispered, the same sad smile on her face as she stared into his caring eyes. "I'm sorry.. Goliath..."

"You.."

"I love you," Elisa interrupted as she slowly drifted down, her eyes closing and her breathing going shallow.

She was dying. "I love you, Elisa," Goliath mumbled, admitting now what he could never admit before as he felt the thrum of her heartbeat slow till he could barely feel the pulse through the vein in her neck. Closing his eyes so he couldn't see her paling face, Goliath turned his head to the side. When he opened them, Krishna's still and bleeding body lay in his vision... his wound allowing his still-warm blood to escape.. his black, evil blood... that had ways of restoring Elisa's health in the past!

Mentally kicking himself for not thinking of it sooner, Goliath quickly moved next to Krishna. How to do this? The most direct way... Moving quickly, Goliath grabbed one of Krishna's arms and dragged the cooling corpse next to Elisa. Grimacing, he then lifted one of the heavy arms till he was holding it next to Elisa's bitten neck.. and then paused. "But what if his blood was all that was needed to change her over?" Goliath thought out loud. Elisa would never forgive him if he changed her into one of them.. but wasn't it worth the chance in order to save her? Looking at Elisa, he saw that her chest was barely rising any more, showing that the end was definitely near.. he had to decide now. Should he or shouldn't he? Shaking his head, Goliath   
quickly pulled the stiffening arm out over Elisa's neck once more and then made a small slit in the skin with one of his talons. Almost instantly a small pool of blood formed. Careful to keep it away from his own skin, Goliath allowed one small drop of the blood to fall from Krishna's skin; onto the bite marks from Krishna's sharp teeth. Holding his breath, Goliath watched patiently as the blood did it's work. Almost instantly, the wounds closed over and disappeared till there were no marks left to show where a wound had ever been. Slowly, very slowly, he then noticed as some of the color returned to Elisa's cheeks and her breathing quickened till it's normal pace. Shoving the body aside, Goliath moved till he was once more kneeling beside Elisa, and watched in fascination as her eye lids fluttered open.

"Goliath?" Elisa asked weakly as her eyes focused once more on his face towering over her.

Smiling broadly, Goliath quickly reached down and gathered Elisa into his arms, holding her tightly against him. As the tears pooled in his eyes once more, this time from happiness, he held her head against his shoulder, inhaling the scent of her hair.. of her: alive.

*****

Wednesday, November 12th

"And.. how are you feeling?" Goliath asked slowly, still staring out into the dark night sky.

"I haven't changed Goliath," Elisa replied with a sad smile, knowing that was what he was really asking. "I'm still tired and weak from the loss of blood, but I'm still me.. still human," she replied.

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"A Pale Comparison: When Darkness Falls"   


Friday, November 21st

Turning slightly, Elisa felt the layers of deep sleep that ruled her days as of late slowly lift to reveal a falling darkness. Yawning, she peeled open one eye after another, thankful that she had thought ahead and closed the drapes on the blinding sun. Sitting up slowly, Elisa quietly stretched her arms out as the last veils of sleep drifted away. Rising up in the darkness, she then side-stepped the various objects lining her path, slightly amazed at the clarity of her night vision as she moved into the darkened hallway and into the hot spray of the shower beyond.

As the hot water sluiced away the last remnants of sleep, Elisa lay her head against the smooth tile that lined the shower. Clenching her hand against her bare thigh, she tried her best to will away the burning hunger that gnawed up her delicate insides. The hunger... it began a couple of days ago as a small pang; a pang that steadily grew despite the amount of food she consumed.

Shaking her head, Elisa reached forward and quickly turned the wet handle of the tap, cutting off the numbing warmth. Reaching back, she gently squeezed the long masses of her black hair in her hands as rivulets of water ran down her back.

She needed... she needed... she needed... to get to work, Elisa realized as she hurriedly got out of the shower and finished getting ready. Deep inside, she knew that wasn't what she was going to say, but the question of what it was she needed continued to go unanswered in her mind. The question that she wasn't entirely sure that she wanted to answer.

Sighing, Elisa quickly zipped up her favorite red jacket and then donned the black baseball hat that she had purchased the other day. It had been a long time--many years in fact--since she had last worn a cap; the sensation of the cap so firmly pressed against her raven locks foreign to her. With the brim pulled down low over her forehead, she turned and brushed past Cagney who quickly darted out of her path, and snatched up the pair of dark, mirrored glasses that were lying on the counter.

Without another glance back, Elisa slipped on her only protection against the bright glare of the sun on her sensitive eyes and stepped out into the dying world of light. She had a date to keep.

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Castle Wyvern - 6:45pm - sunset

Bright light gave way to the dark night as the sun made its final descent over the New York skyline. Shielding her eyes against the glare, Elisa watched the timeless occurrence with a flowering of emotions; emotions that came to their peak as one particular statue cracked under the dying light.

Roaring his greeting to the new night, Goliath turned away from the same setting in time to see Elisa slip a dark pair of glasses from her face and smoothly stuff them in one of her coat pockets. "Bright day?" Goliath inquired by way of greeting as he climbed down from his perch and hugged his love tightly against him.

"Hmm, you could say that again," Elisa murmured as she breathed in his scent; a scent that belonged only to him.

Smiling gently, Goliath unwrapped one arm from around her tiny waist and gently pulled off Elisa's black cap, showing her glossy hair beneath. Stepping back, he then tilted her chin up till he met her stare. "And how are we feeling tonight, my love?"

"Better than ever," Elisa replied truthfully, with a small grin. "My strength has returned and my sleeping schedule is back on track. I'm even back on the streets again starting tonight!"

"What?" Goliath started as he shifted slightly. "Are you sure that's wise? It's not too soon?"

"I'm fine, Big Guy!" Elisa calmed with a small, carefree laugh. "Look at me... doesn't it look like I can handle a bit of street scum?"

Frowning slightly, Goliath had to admit to himself that Elisa looked as fit as ever. Gone was her pale skin, the dark bags that lined her beautiful eyes as of late; her hair was glossy once more and the sparkle had finally returned to those same eyes that so captivated his attention. "You're beautiful," Goliath breathed, not meaning to speak his mind aloud.

Blushing, Elisa glanced away and laughed quietly. "Thanks Big Guy, but that's not exactly what I was referring to."

Shaking his head, Goliath bit down on the laugh that was building within him. Trying to maintain his serious demeanor, he quickly changed the subject. "But you have no partner! Matt can't be back on the streets yet, can he? It's only been two weeks since he was hospitalized..."

"Oh no, Matt's going to be stuck behind the desk for quite some time yet," Elisa murmured sadly, her mind flashing back to the guilt she felt. Matt was hurt because of her, and her only. "But believe it or not," Elisa said quickly, trying to get the mental image out of her mind's eye, "there was a time when I was out on the streets without a partner--now will be no different," Elisa cried out defiantly as she stuck her chin out.

"But..."

"Goliath, I can take care of myself..."

"Something that I never doubted for an instant," Goliath interrupted smoothly as he squeezed her shoulders gently.

Smiling, Elisa shook her head slowly. "Nice cover up."

"I've learned from the best," Goliath countered quickly, his eyes twinkling.

"Maybe so," Elisa laughed as she punched Goliath's shoulder gently, "but in any case, I gotta run."

"Duty calls?" Goliath asked, the teasing note still evident in his voice.

"You could say that," Elisa grinned as she slowly backed away. "But I also gotta grab some food--I even feel that I could put Broadway to shame by how much I could eat!"

Tilting his head back, Goliath laughed loudly. "Somehow, I doubt that."

"You'd be surprised," Elisa murmured thoughtfully. Shaking her head, Elisa focused once more on her love. "My stomach is killing me," she explained, forcing herself to laugh in order to soften her words, all the while biting her lips against the burning pain.

"Well, go and eat now and then I'll have Angela..."

"Goliath," Elisa warned, her eyes glittering under the bright moon.

"Meet you at the station so that she can accompany you tonight," Goliath continued as though he hasn't heard her protest.

"Goliath, I just..."

"Please Elisa... Angela has been feeling... a bit smothered as of late, and I'd like for her to..."

Sighing, Elisa shook her head slowly and smiled softly. "So you thought you'd help us all out, huh?"

Frowning slightly, Goliath met Elisa's teasing glance. "If it's a problem..."

"Goliath, I was just kidding!" Elisa laughed, shaking her head at his serious demeanor. "Of course Angela can come along... just have her meet me at the station in an hour."

Nodding slightly, Goliath tried to hide his frown as he pulled Elisa near. "Be careful, my love," he whispered as his wings folded around them reflexively.

Smiling at his protective nature, Elisa snuggled closer for a minute before pulling back. "I'll be back after my shift," she promised quietly as she turned away and moved quickly down the shadowed stairwell.

"Be careful!" Goliath called out once more as her black hair twisted out of sight.

************************************************************************************************

NYPD 23rd precinct - 7:30pm

Sighing, Elisa sidestepped the various hardened criminal that lined her path as she veered towards the relative safety of her desk.

"Hey partner," Matt greeted as Elisa slid into the desk opposite of him.

"Hey Matt," Elisa acknowledged as she slipped out of her red jacket and placed it on the back of her chair. Glancing up, she cringed inwardly at the sight of her partner. He was only two weeks out of the hospital, making all of the bruises that lined his face still their vivid purple. To make it worse, his poor right arm was still in a sling while his left was in a heavy cast over his wrist, making it obvious to all that this detective had the beating of his life--all due to her. Because he was such a good and loyal friend Matt had endured the torture in order to withhold her whereabouts from Krishna. Fed up, Krishna had then used a method that Matt was unable to withstand in order to gain that same info. Swallowing her guilt, Elisa forced a bright smile as she said, "So, what's the plan for tonight?"

"Well," Matt answered as he shifted in his seat and reached his left hand forward to snatch one of the many folders that lay piled on his desk, "we've been given a new case."

"Oh?" Elisa asked as she reached across and took the file from Matt. "A robbery at Nightstone Unlimited?" Elisa asked in amazement as she arched her eyebrow at Matt, skimming through the file.

"You got it. Apparently, a shipment of weapons destined for the government was stolen last night at one of Nightstone's warehouses," Matt said with a tight smile.

"And Ms. Destine actually came to the police with this problem?"

"You bet. She also asked the commissioner personally that New York City's best be put on the case..."

"And that's why we're stuck on it," Elisa finished grimly.

"To top it off, thanks to some high-sitting friends of hers, the pressure is on us to solve this case quickly and quietly," Matt replied with a wry grin.

Shaking her head, Elisa laughed quietly. "Somehow, I doubt that when Ms. Destine requested New York's finest she thought that she'd be getting us!"

"Maybe not, but she's stuck with us now!" Matt laughed, wincing when the pain in his mending ribs flared up.

Frowning, Elisa chewed on her lip as she leaned across her desk. "Are you alright?" she murmured quietly.

Glancing up, Matt caught the worry and guilt shining in his partner's eyes. "I'm fine, Elisa... and would you please quit blaming yourself?"

"What?" Elisa asked, caught off guard by his uncanny perception.

"Elisa, what happened to me wasn't your fault," Matt whispered fiercely as he leaned across the desk and took Elisa's hand in his better one. "If anything, I'm the one to blame for telling him where you were in the end," Matt trailed off sadly as he averted his striking blue eyes away.

"No, Matt," Elisa argued quickly as she squeezed his hand gently. "You did nothing wrong! There was no way you could have denied Krishna of the information that he wanted--you went beyond anything that I could have done by holding out while he was... hurting you..." Elisa trailed off sadly, her eyes squeezing shut.

"But what good did that do me in the end? What good did it do you?! Because of me, you were..."

"I was what? Matt, look at me!" Elisa ordered firmly as she tugged his hand gently. When his eyes lifted up and focused on her, Elisa smiled warmly. "There were **no** serious consequences from that night--everyone emerged fine... including me," Elisa whispered slowly, trying to mean them, while all along a small voice asked a nagging question in the back of her mind: was she alright? Did she leave this incident unscathed? What of her sudden aversion to sunlight? The dying sleep that enveloped her? What of the burning hunger that consumed her even now? All pointed to something that her poor mind just couldn't conceive—something she **wouldn't** conceive. There were far too many things happening at once and she absolutely   
refused to dwell on this matter--not then, not ever.

"Well, let's make a deal then," Matt called out decisively, breaking into her muddled thoughts.

"Huh?" Elisa grunted as she blinked away the thoughts that had plagued her mind.

"A deal," Matt repeated, his expression serious.

"What kind of deal?" Elisa asked slowly as her mind became focused once more.

"I'll put aside my guilt if you do the same with yours. We'll both admit to each other and ourselves that no blame is being placed on the other."

Forcing a smile, Elisa nodded slowly. Deep inside, she knew that she could **never** lay aside the guilt that governed her every move; but for Matt's sake, she would damn well pretend to. "Agreed."

"Good, I..."

"Are you two going to just sit here and talk all night or are you going to get moving on this case?"

Turning, the two detectives found Captain Chavez standing beside them with her hands planted firmly on her hips. "Yes, Captain," Matt replied as he quickly snatched his hand back and straightened up. "Actually, we were discussing just that!"

"Sure you were," Captain Chavez muttered as she shook her head. "I didn't realize that this case was so emotional that it would cause my two best detectives to offer emotional support through hand holding," she replied smoothly as she arched her eyebrow at the two.

Feeling a blush rising, Elisa shook her head slowly. "No, I.. ah we..." Elisa stuttered slowly.

"Save it Detective," Chavez laughed as she held up her hand. "I want you both to get going--Maza, you head on over to the warehouse and check out the crime scene. Bluestone, you're to try and see if you can have a word with Ms. Destine."

Noting that it was around 7pm and after sunset, Matt shook his head slowly. "Somehow, I seriously doubt that she'll be seeing anyone tonight."

"Detective Bluestone, Ms. Destine is the CEO of a large corporation, I'm sure she'll still be there..."

"But..."

"And if she isn't, then you better make an appointment for the first thing tomorrow morning, right Detective? Now move it!" she ordered.

Sighing, Elisa did as she was told as she stood quickly and slid on her traditional red jacket. Grabbing her keys from her pocket, she then waited patiently for Matt to get to his feet and then followed him out of the noisy building. "Do you want me to drop you off?" Elisa asked as she stuck her hands in her coat pockets.

"Nah, don't worry about me; I can catch a cab over to Nightstone..."

"You might as well just have them take you home and get some sleep," Elisa interrupted smoothly as Matt began looking for a cab. "There's no way you'll be able to see Demona tonight."

"You know that, I know that, but the Captain doesn't. Chavez would really have my hide if she found out that I called it a night without even trying!" Matt replied with a grin.

"Your dedication makes me sick!" Elisa groaned as she began unlocking her car door which was parked in front of the doors to the precinct.

"Hey," Matt called out as Elisa's door opened, "be careful out there, partner!"

Smiling softly, Elisa paused and met her partner's concerned look. "Aren't I always?"

"No, I mean it," Matt replied, his worried frown deepening. "If anything looks even slightly off, don't hesitate to call in for back-up."

"Matt, don't worry... I already have the back-up covered," Elisa said quietly as she glanced up into the dark night sky.

Catching the direction of her pointed glance, Matt's worry eased. "Goliath?" he whispered quietly.

"Nope. Angela," Elisa said with a smile as she slid behind the wheel of her beloved car. With a small wave to Matt, she was off and into the busy New York traffic. Smiling to herself, Elisa reached over and picked up the transmitter she carried while keeping a careful eye trained on the road before her. "Angela, you there?" Elisa asked as she clipped the microphone to her jacket collar.

"Yes, I am here Elisa," came the tinny reply.

Smiling, Elisa slowly changed lanes as she headed in the general direction of Nightstone's warehouse. "What's your current position?" she asked as she unconsciously checked her rear view mirror.

"I'm directly above your car," Angela replied after a short pause. "Elisa, where are we going?"

Grimacing, Elisa pondered over how to answer the young gargoyle's question. Sighing, Elisa shook her head slowly. "We're going to check out a warehouse... a weapons shipment was stolen from there last night."

"I see," came Angela's thoughtful reply. "Will there be other humans present?"

"I'm not sure... security for sure. Why don't you just wait on the roof?" Elisa suggested, knowing Angela's question even before she asked. "I doubt that I'll be needing any back up--the bad guys hardly ever return to the scene of the crime the day after they commit it..."

"And you will stay in constant contact with me and alert me if you need my help," Angela replied, finishing Elisa's statement for her.

"Exactly. See, I knew that there was a reason why I need you guys so much!" Elisa said, laughing at the young warrior's intuition. "Seriously though, why is it that you needed to get out of the castle so desperately?"

A long sigh was her only response.

"Broadway?" Elisa asked sympathetically.

"I... I really care for Broadway," Angela's voice responded through the tiny speaker, "but lately he hasn't left my side for a moment. I've been feeling a bit..."

"Smothered?" Elisa supplied with a small smile.

"Exactly," Angela sighed. "That is why I asked father if I could accompany you tonight.. I hope you do not mind," Angela gushed quickly, the worry she was feeling becoming evident in her voice. "I mean, you and father..."

"It's alright!" Elisa laughed as she pulled in front of the warehouse. "I'm sure that Goliath can come up with something better to do than baby-sit me!" When Elisa's laugh was greeted by a thick silence, Elisa hopped out of her car and looked up into the clear night sky. "Angela?" she asked, worry entering her voice.

"What are we doing at one of mother's warehouses?" came the quiet reply.

Sighing, Elisa ran a hand through her long black hair as she began walking to the front door of the dimly lit warehouse. "It was from her company that the weapons were stolen."

"And *you're* going to help my mother?" Angela asked pointedly, a note of disbelief entering her voice. It was obvious to all of the clan that there was no love loss between Elisa and Demona--after all, the gargoyle had attempted to kill the detective on more than one occasion.

"Yeah, well isn't life funny like that sometimes?" Elisa asked wryly as her hand rested on the cold door knob. "Now just wait up there... I'm sure that the lab boys and girls found everything worth finding already, so this shouldn't take long."

Without another word, Elisa stepped through the door and into a dingy office beyond. It was relatively small with a long bar that ran the length of the wall opposite the door she entered through. Standing behind it was the 'security force' which consisted of a young kid who looked just out of high school and a grizzled old man. Behind them stood the only other door to be seen.

"Good evening, ma'am," the older man called out in a deep, yet polite voice. "What can I help you with?"

"Detective Elisa Maza, NYPD," Elisa replied in way of greeting as she flashed her badge at the two guards. "I just have a few questions for you about the robbery last night."

"We'd be glad to answer any question you have, ma'am," the old man replied, a new light of respect glittering in his eyes. "But we already told the fellas who were here last night everything that happened."

"And I'd just like to go over those things again, if you wouldn't mind," Elisa replied as she flashed a large smile to lighten her words.

Before the old man had a chance to reply, the younger one, who had said nothing up until that point, grinned shyly and said, "Not a problem."

Slightly annoyed by the fact that the twerp was talking to her chest and not her, Elisa cleared her throat loudly so that his attention snapped up to focus on her eyes. "Thanks for your cooperation," Elisa muttered before she snapped open the case folder that she carried. "Now, you both were working last night at the time of the robbery, right?" she asked, getting down to business.

"That's right," the old man agreed, sending a dirty look to his young partner for his earlier behavior. "Our shift lasts from 10pm till 6am. We first heard noises at around 2:30am."

"And you stated earlier that you heard glass shattering--one of the skylights, right?"

"Yeah, but whoever it was blocked the door from the inside before we could do anything," the young man spoke up, his eyes straining to look anywhere but at the detective's chest after he had been caught before.

"So you called the police, and with their help you were able to get inside, at which point you discovered the missing weapons," Elisa summarized as she skimmed the report and their statements.

"Right," the two guards agreed as they nodded their heads in agreement.

"And you didn't hear anything else? No names spoken, words, or voices?" Elisa persisted, arching her eyebrow in disbelief.

"I know it sounds strange," the old guard agreed hesitantly, "but after the sound of them breaking the skylight, it was as quiet as a cemetery in there."

Sighing, Elisa slapped the folder shut and slid it back in the inside pocket of her jacket. "Well, thanks for your help guys..."

"Oh, it was our **pleasure**!" the young man interrupted, only to receive a sharp elbow in his side.

Shaking her head, Elisa tried to repress her smile. "Um, would you mind if I had a look inside real quick?"

"Not at all," the old man replied quickly as he gestured for Elisa to step behind the counter. "Just continue straight back until you hit the far wall and then hang right. When you come to the clearing, that's the spot where the boxes were..."

"You're not coming?" Elisa asked, surprise flickering across her smooth face.

"Sorry, but the boss has really laid down the law since the robbery--new rule is that we always gotta have two guards up front at all times," the young man explained quickly.

"Oh, and you'll need this," the old man broke in as he handed her a flashlight.

"What for? Isn't the warehouse lighted?" Elisa asked in confusion as she accepted the heavy flashlight.

"Yeah, but they also broke out the overhead lighting in that part of the warehouse, so you can't see anything without that," the young man explained quickly as Elisa stepped into the large warehouse.

"Thanks," Elisa mumbled as she began walking down the long aisle. When she heard the click of the door closing behind her, Elisa switched on her transmitter once more. "Angela?" Elisa asked quietly as she continued down the aisle.

"I am here, Elisa," Angela replied after a brief pause. "Where are you?"

"I'm walking through the warehouse back to where the shipment was stolen... where are you?"

"I am by the skylight that was broken earlier... it seems that it has been boarded up..."

Glancing up, Elisa strained her eyes to look over the towering columns of boxes to the skylights above. "Probably to protect everything else in here in case it rained--at least until they can get the new glass in," she guessed.

"Yes, but it seems that they didn't finish their job... part of the skylight has no covering... I could fit through without taking more boards away... do you want me to..."

"No Angela, you better wait there in case the guards change their mind and one of them comes back."

"Alright, Elisa..." Angela murmured, her voice showing her disappointment, "but what's it like in there?"

Glancing around, Elisa shook her head slowly. "Like a regular old warehouse," she muttered as she continued walking.

"Elisa..." came Angela's sighed response.

"Okay, okay," Elisa laughed, shaking her head slowly. "Well," she replied as she checked out her surroundings, "once you leave the small office that the guards are in up front, you're in a very large chamber. There are cement floors and walls... boxes and other equipment are piled either on top of each other or on metal stands... stacked a good ten to fifteen feet high. The boxes and racks all join together to create different aisles... right now I'm walking down the large, main corridor... good lighting... okay, now I've reached the far end of the warehouse," Elisa muttered as she turned right as ordered. "Here the lighting is getting dimmer because of the smashed lights," Elisa described as she turned on her flashlight for the first time with a dull click. Nodding at the added illumination, Elisa continued down the narrow passageway.

"Elisa?" Angela asked after a few moments of silence.

"Still here," Elisa assured as she swept her flashlight beam in front of her. "It's really dark over here and the flashlight is my only illumination..." Elisa trailed off as she stepped into an open space. "Found it," she muttered as she walked into the center of the clearing, her black boots echoing hollowly off the concrete in the silence of the warehouse.

"Found what?" Angela asked quickly, excitement entering her young voice.

"The place where the weapons were stored.. hold on a sec," Elisa muttered as she slowly turned around. In all honestly, she didn't know what she was looking for. Still, with years of cop experience behind her, Elisa knew that she would know what she was looking for when she found it. As she slowly turned and surveyed the empty space, she was dismayed to find nothing that caught her eye. Apparently, the boxes of weapons were stacked upon each other, for there were none of the metal stands to be found here. According the report, eight boxes of the weapons were stolen--and they must have been eight very large boxes considering the amount of room that was now left open. At a rough estimate, Elisa guessed that the space she was standing in was about 8x10 feet in diameter. All together, that was 8 by 10 feet of nothing, for as she turned, nothing in the glare of the flashlight caught her careful eye. Sighing, Elisa mouthed the word aloud: Nothing.

"Elisa?"

Shaking her head, Elisa turned to leave. "There's nothing here Angela.. just a large empty space that used to be filled with boxes of weapons."

"Now what?"

"I guess we go follow up on some other leads..." Elisa muttered, her voice trailing off as a faint glint of light caught her sharp vision in the corner of her eye. Stopping, Elisa turned and surveyed the area that she just vacated. Seeing nothing, Elisa slowly moved back into the space and turned instinctively towards the bare wall of the warehouse. The glare had come from that direction.

"Elisa?"

Ignoring Angela's soft voice, Elisa did something strange... something so strange that it was a wonder that she didn't question her motives: she turned off her flashlight and set it quietly on the concrete floor. Instantaneously, darkness flooded the open space, leaving Elisa surrounded by the mysterious night. Amazingly, in a matter of seconds the darkness ebbed away and shapes began to take form in the gloom--boxes, shelves, and other mysterious objects began to make themselves known to the detective once again. Shaking her head, Elisa pushed away the wonder at the clarity of her night vision as it became even clearer. It was true that there was no color in this strange array of darkness--after all, as she remembered from her college psychology class all those years ago, it was the rods in her eyes that were used in night vision, and those were all but useless for seeing color. Still, the clarity was something that was common only to the day. She saw each shape and object in the dark gloom as she would see it in the daylight, only minus the color that each possessed.

Shaking her head, Elisa forced her thoughts away from the stuffy classroom of so long ago and instead turned her dark eyes on the wall that had caught her attention. To her amazement, she saw one imperfection among the starkness of that picture. Along the concrete floor that lined the similar wall lay a layer of dust. This dust was so thick in places that piles of it were fluffed up along this perpendicular line. What caught her eye, was that in one of those piles of dust, a small object jutted out.

"Elisa?" Angela repeated, a little more anxious this time.

Ignoring her friend's insistent cry, Elisa stepped forward slowly, her eyes trained on the small object. Upon reaching the wall, she then reached one foot out and gently nudged aside the pile of dust. Reaching down, she slowly picked the object up and inspected it in her hand, a look of puzzlement upon her face.

"Elisa?!" Angela repeated again, this time the worry in her voice more than obvious.

"I'm here."

"Are you alright? Why didn't you answer?" Angela asked quickly, her voice drifting through the miniature speaker, a note of annoyance evident.

"I've found something..."

"What?"

"It's a button," Elisa said slowly as her eyes traveled over the small object.

"A button?" Angela asked in confusion, missing the significance of the find.

"Yes... it's a small gold button that is completely covered by an inscribed fiery sun with a red eye in the center of the sun," Elisa described, amazed at the intricacy of the work. It was obvious that a great deal of care had gone into creating the tiny find.

Suddenly, Elisa detected the faintest sound from behind her. Pocketing the button in her jeans pocket, Elisa whirled around quickly. She wasn't surprised to find two men dressed from head to toe in black standing behind her. ~Masked men... lovely~ Elisa thought to herself as she smiled at the strangers. "Can I help you boys with something?" Elisa asked loudly, her voice breaking the silence of the warehouse. From the build of the two strangers, it was obvious that her guess of gender was right on.

"Give us the button," came the gruff reply.

"What button?" Elisa asked innocently, her smile never wavering.

"The one that you just pocketed," the other masked man said, patience not evident in his voice. "Give it to us now and you won't be hurt," he continued ominously.

"I think not," Elisa replied as the smile instantly vanished and was replaced by a look of determination. Without even thinking, Elisa instantly dropped into a defensive stance as she moved to grab her gun.

Seeing her actions, one of the men quickly leveled a pistol at her and shook his head sharply. "Don't even think about it... just hand over the button."

As her hand slowly slid back away from her holster, Elisa stood tall once again. "Why is the button so important to you?" Elisa asked quietly, her eyes glinting as she met the thugs' gazes.

"Quit stalling for time and give us the goddamed button!" the man holding the gun yelled out as he stepped closer to Elisa... close enough for her to touch if she wanted, his finger tightening on the trigger as he stared into her cold brown eyes.

Growing tense, Elisa slowly shook her head. "I don't think so," she muttered slowly before twirling about in a roundhouse kick, her foot connecting easily with his gun hand. The man didn't even have a chance to react, her movements were that inhumanly fast, as the gun flew from his hand and went clattering to the concrete floor a few feet away. Once more, before either men had a chance to react, Elisa once more acted out in cold fury as she jumped up and kicked her right leg forward once more, this time connecting squarely with his stomach--a move that was so powerful that the masked man flew back from her and crashed into some heavy crates at the edge of the open space. Turning, Elisa focused her attention on her other prey.

The man was only now beginning to regain his senses, the whole attack on his friend only having lasted a few seconds. Seeing the woman's cold gaze shifting towards him, he reached for the knife he always kept sheathed in his boot, as though moving in slow motion. Unfortunate for him, the woman wasn't moving in the same slow motion as him but much, much faster. Before he even had a chance to reach his midsection, let alone his calf, she was upon him. Without even blinking an eye, she lashed out with her lightning fast reflexes and held him fast with a single hand. Glaring at him, she slowly squeezed his fragile neck and lifted him effortlessly a few inches off of the ground.

"What... are... you?" the man gasped as he strained for air. Ignoring his words, Elisa stared deep into the thief's eyes, there being no doubt in her mind that this man before her was somehow related to the weapon theft. But as her gaze began to wander lower, Elisa felt the hunger that had been her constant companion as of late intensify into a sharp peak until the pain began to grow in waves in her abdomen. Soon, she found her eyes trained on the rapid throbbing of his life vein. As all other thoughts left her mind, Elisa focused on the rhythm of the pumping.. the ever present thrumming of his blood running through his body till it sounded like a roar of water cascading through her hearing. Just as the roaring reached its crescendo, and just as Elisa felt as though she was on the brink of.. something, a single voice broke through her muddled thoughts.

"Elisa!" Angela's voice called out, echoing in the dark warehouse. Upon hearing her friend's voice, sense once more returned to her foggy mind. Snapping her eyes away from the thief she held, Elisa turned and saw Angela standing at the entrance to the clearing, a look of shock and horror upon her face.

Shaking her head, Elisa quickly dropped the man to the hard concrete floor and turned to fully face her friend. "Angela, I..." Elisa stuttered as she realized what the implications of the scene must seem to the young gargess.

Suddenly the young gargoyle's eyes widened even more, if possible, as her cry once more broke the quiet of the warehouse. "Elisa! Look out!"

Swiveling about, Elisa's eyes narrowed as they took in the scene behind her. The goon who she had just dropped now stood straight with his retrieved gun trained on her and his partner beside him. Knowing that she had no options but one, Elisa was about to move from the line of fire when the handgun was fired at her at point blank range. The silencer on the weapon caused the quietest of a muffled thwump before the bullet made its deadly arc at her. As it reached its destination, Elisa felt a brief flare of pain in her chest as the force threw her back into Angela's arms before sinking to the ground.

"Elisa!" Angela cried out as she cradled her friend's black head of glossy hair in her lap. Glancing up, she was relieved to see that the two masked men had seized their opportunity and fled. "Elisa?" Angela whispered again as she looked down once more.

"Fine... I'm fine," Elisa gasped as she sat up quickly and pulled away.

"But, you've been shot!" Angela gasped as Elisa turned her back to her friend and stood up quickly.

"No... he missed me," Elisa whispered in amazement as she slowly fingered the charred hole in her black tee-shirt and the smooth, unmarked skin beneath. It didn't make any sense... Elisa had felt the impact of the bullet... the pain as she was shot... but she was unmarked, her skin smooth and pale. "He missed," Elisa repeated, her voice stronger as she zipped up her red jacket to hide the hole and turned to face her friend once more. Angela stood behind her, her large brown eyes filled with confusion and worry as she slowly toyed with her long braid which lay over her shoulder.

"But he was so close... how could he have missed?" Angela murmured as she stared at Elisa, standing apparently unmarked before her.

Forcing a laugh and a small smile, Elisa shook her head slowly. "I guess that I'm just lucky that he was such a bad shot!"

"But..."

"Angela," Elisa interrupted quickly, her smile faltering, "I'm fine."

Frowning, Angela nodded her head slowly. "You were very lucky, Elisa," she finally said quietly, her tone serious as her eyes stared at her friend. "It also seems that you had similar good fortune when dealing with the men before I had arrived..."

Knowing that Angela saw too much and knowing that there was a serious question underlying the innocent one, Elisa's eyes narrowed slightly. "Yeah, I guess you could say that.. but speaking of which, where did they go?" she asked quickly, trying to draw away from the subject at hand.

Sighing, Angela shook her head slowly. "The two men are gone. They left during the commotion after the gun was fired--but what were they after?"

"What?" Elisa asked, thrown off by the abrupt change of subject.

"The two men... what were they after?" Angela repeated, her expression as neutral as Owen's.

"Oh... the button," Elisa replied as she quickly reached into her pocket and withdrew the small gold button, unusually relieved at the change.

Taking it into her hands, Angela inspected the button carefully. "Amazing that they went to all that trouble over such a small object."

"It must have some importance to them," Elisa agreed as she accepted the golden button back and slipped it in her jeans pocket once more. "And that's exactly what I plan on finding out."

Nodding her head slowly, Angela met her friend's determined gaze. "Then you'll be returning to the station now?"

"Yeah.. I want to do some digging around on the computers there," Elisa agreed, a far away looking entering her eyes. Shaking her head, Elisa quickly focused back on the topic at hand. "Um, why don't you head back to the castle then? There's no reason that you should have to sit and wait for me."

Sighing, Angela looked at Elisa's determined glance and then thought back to all she had lay witness to that night.

As if reading her mind, Elisa's eyes narrowed slightly as she stepped forward and squeezed Angela's hand gently. "Angela, I'd appreciate it if you didn't mention the men that we encountered tonight to Goliath."

"Not tell Father? But why?" Angela asked slowly, trying her best to hide her emotions.

"Not Goliath or the clan. It would just worry them--and there's nothing to worry about..."

"But..."

"Please Angela," Elisa asked again as she squeezed her hand once more. "Promise me that you won't mention any of this to anyone."

Sighing, Angela cast her eyes to the barren cement floor beneath her. "I promise," she murmured quietly as she pulled away and began walking towards the lighted aisles beyond.

Sighing, Elisa shook her head slowly. She hated doing this--forcing the young gargoyle to hide things from her clan, but she just couldn't have the others learning of what happened tonight. Too many questions would be asked; questions that she didn't have the answers to. And until she did, she'd rather just keep the problem to herself. "Thank you Angela," she murmured as the gargoyle disappeared from view.

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Somewhere else in Manhattan - 10:00pm

"Mistress, the men you hired request your audience," the young, pale faced man said quietly as he bowed before the woman, trying his best to stop the shaking in his limbs. Before him, sitting on a regal throne on a raised dais, was his queen.. his Mistress. She was beautiful.. no, she was a Goddess. The Mistress looked to be about 25 years of age, but he knew that she was much older than that--**MUCH** older. Long, silky red hair cascaded down her pale shoulders, revealed by her off the shoulder midnight blue gown. Out of the pale face of the Goddess stared the large, emerald green cat-like eyes of the devil herself.

Sighing, the Mistress raised her hand slowly and beckoned for the men to be brought forth. A few seconds later there was a shuffle at the door as the two men stumbled into the room, the guard, Jorge, following them in. "You have the button?" she asked coldly, her voice echoing throughout the dark room.

His voice shaking, the first man slowly pulled off his black mask, revealing a man of no more than 22--a baby compared to her--with short, spiked blond hair and bright blue eyes. "N..n..no Ma'am.." the young man stuttered, his blue eyes shifting about the dark room. No doubt, he was busy wondering why he had bothered to get himself involved with this lady.

Scowling down at the man, the Mistress's eyes narrowed slowly. "You are to address me as Mistress," she spat out coldly, her eyes burrowing deep into the man, as if looking into his very soul.

"Y..yes Mistress," the man stuttered quickly, his partner sending him panicked looks. "Forgive me for my slip.."

"Now, where is the button? Why have you failed in this simple task?" she asked slowly, her voice deadly.

Gasping, the man shook his head slowly. "I.. uh.. we..."

Annoyed by the human's sputtering, a look of anger passed across her face. With glinting eyes, the Mistress quickly raised her eyes to Jorge and nodded slightly at the bumbling young man. Nodding his head in acknowledgment, the pale faced guard quickly stepped forward, grabbed the unknowing young man by the neck, and turned it quickly. In a matter of seconds, the man was dead.

Shaken, the dead man's accomplice watched all of this in horror before facing the woman.

"Take off that ridiculous mask in my presence," the Mistress spat out coldly, her voice calm as she watched her guard drag the dead man from the room out of the corner of her eye.

Nodding quickly, the man ripped off his hood, showing yet another youth with long brown hair tied in a pony tail. "Now I repeat, where is the button?"

"The woman has it," the man replied quickly, no hesitation evident in his voice as he met the Mistress's unwavering gaze.

"What woman?" she asked quickly.

"A police detective by the name of Elisa Maza," the man replied just as quickly, knowing that his life depended on it.

Frowning, the Mistress glared at the young man, transforming her beautiful face into an ugly mask. "Explain."

"When we got into the warehouse through the skylight, we began searching the empty space you told us about when we heard the office door open," the man explained quickly, his eyes flitting to the spot that his partner once occupied.

"And?"

"We hid and a few minutes later the woman came into the space... she was talking to someone through a transceiver. She found the button and so me and.. me and Jimmy came out, his gun aimed at her and told her to give it to us."

"Continue," the Mistress said coldly, her frown deepening at the man's words.

"Well, this woman.. it was impossible! She moved faster than lightning and took out Jimmy before we even had a chance to blink... and then she was on me and was about to.." Here the man paused as confusion covered his face. In actuality, he had no real idea what the woman was going to do to him. "Well, I don't know.. kill me probably, when a gargoyle came in behind us..."

"A gargoyle, you say?" the Mistress asked quickly, her interest sparked. Now this was definitely getting interesting. During her short visit in New York it was almost impossible **NOT** to be regaled with the urban legends of the gargoyles--stories that now seemed to be a truth.

"Yeah, so we used her as a distraction and Jimmy was able to shoot the lady point blank in the chest..."

"So she's dead?" the Mistress asked, slightly disappointed that this mysterious woman was out of the game so quickly.

"Well that's the thing," the man said quickly, slightly relieved that the look of murder was off of his boss's face, replaced by curiosity. "Jimmy and I hightailed it out of there and watched from a distance.. the gargoyle thing flew away by herself, and the detective **walked out of the building a few minutes later!**" Jimmy said quickly, excitement lighting up his face. "I know that Jimmy shot her, but she acted like she wasn't hurt at all!"

Pondering the man's words, the Mistress slowly reclined back into her throne. Now this **WAS** interesting. A police detective who had lightning fast reflexes and who was unharmed by a bullet wound. Nodding her head, the Mistress once more looked at the small human male. "And how did you learn of her name?"

Here, the young man allowed the first smile of pride to cover his face. "Jimmy and I went in and asked the guards who was just there and the young one said that it was Elisa Maza, a detective," the man said proudly.

Sighing, the Mistress closed her eyes briefly. "Foolish mortal," she whispered. The only thing that stopped her from killing him on the spot for his stupidity was the fact that very soon, there would be nothing to connect him with her or her organization. "Very well then," she murmured, "the money shall be transferred to your account as agreed upon."

Nodding his head greedily, the man smiled a shaky smile before quickly taking his leave.

"You're letting him live?" Jorge asked quickly, surprised at his Mistress's words.

"Of course not, fool. The others have instructions already to kill him before he reaches the door," the Mistress said quietly, her thoughts returning once more to the man's words. Turning, she gazed at her young guard thoughtfully. "It was very foolish of you and the others to have lost such an important key to our organization... had that ever gotten into the wrong hands, we may have been discovered," she began slowly, her gaze turning hard.

Immediately, Jorge began to sweat as fear entered his heart. "Mistress, we..."

Holding up her hand, the Mistress instantly stalled his protest. "On the other hand, you did get the required weapons from the warehouse without being detected--an admittedly easy task considering your powers. Still, your lack of brains has also brought an interesting puzzle to light."

"The woman?"

"Yes. I want you and another to go and bring this Detective Elisa Maza here, tonight--alive and as unharmed as possible," the Mistress ordered, her voice cold once more.

"I think that I'm capable of handling a human woman on my own..." the young guard began to protest, his cheeks red with indignation.

Frowning at the impudence of the young man, the Mistress shook her head slowly. "I told you to go with another because this woman may be one of us.. now **GO!**"

Startled, Jorge quickly bowed once more to his Mistress and took leave from the room. Smiling softly, the Mistress slowly steepled her fingers together--this night was turning out to be more interesting than she had even hoped.

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NYPD 23rd Precinct - Saturday, November 22nd - 4:00am

Sighing wearily, Elisa slowly rubbed her aching eyes. This was getting her no where fast. Ever since she had returned from the warehouse, her entire time had been devoted to figuring out the mystery of the button. Search after search and test after test had proved futile to her cause. The forensics lab had come up with no prints beside her own and declared it an ordinary button--ordinary when ignoring the fact that it was pure gold. Also, the computer was giving her no headway on the strange symbol to be found on the button. "Argh!" Elisa groaned as her eyes focused on the damn button once again. She knew that the button was an important key to the weapons theft, but she just couldn't figure out how. The likely answer was that one of the robbers had somehow lost it during the robbery--but the question was how to get the button to identify that robber.

"Any luck?"

Surprised at the intrusion into her solitude, Elisa unconsciously covered up her evidence with a sheet of paper. Turning quickly, she found herself staring into the weary eyes of Captain Chavez. "Captain," Elisa replied slowly, "you startled me."

Sighing, Chavez shook her head slowly. "I take it that it's been a long night for the both of us?" she asked, ignoring her detective's statement as she took in the numerous empty coffee cups that littered Elisa's normally neat desk.

Looking at the mess that the Captain was witnessing, Elisa grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, you could say that."

"How did the warehouse go? Any clues?" Chavez asked quickly, trying to hide her smile at her Detective's discomfort.

"Ah.." Elisa said slowly, her gaze unconsciously shifting to the hidden button. "No.. I didn't find a thing," Elisa murmured slowly, not sure why the lie was even leaving her lips.

Sighing, Chavez nodded slowly, completely missing the strange look that passed over Elisa's face. "I was afraid of that," the Captain said slowly. "Any other leads you can follow up on?" she asked as she turned away and began heading back to her office.

"Yeah, you could say that," Elisa muttered as she stood up quickly and shoved the button into her pocket. Moments later she was out the door.

************************************************************************************************

"There she is! That's the woman!" a soft velvety voice whispered from a roof across from the station.

"I can see that nimrod!" another voice whispered from beside him.

"So Jorge, do we grab her like the Mistress ordered?"

"No.. not yet," Jorge replied slowly, his eyes on the woman. "There are too many mortals around. We shall follow her for now and grab her when the time is right."

************************************************************************************************

Castle Wyvern - 4:30am

After a few minutes debate of her next destination, Elisa quickly decided on the castle. After all, as strange as it was, the heavy and tiring sleep that always pulled on her body during the day was gone during the dark hours of night. Instead, she felt more awake and ready to move than ever. Sighing, Elisa climbed into the elevator that would take her to the Great Hall so many stories above. As it dinged shut, her thoughts returned to their troubled path. Those strange things that had ruled her life as of late were the same things which brought her to the castle now. Something was decidedly wrong--and either she didn't have the answer, or she just didn't want to see it. First there was the heavy sleep that only hit during the day hours, the biting hunger that gnawed at her tender stomach even now, her remarkable night vision, her fast reflexes, her pale complexion, and her astonishing strength. Elisa was not stupid... she knew what the signs were pointing to, but she just had to believe that she was wrong. And until she knew for sure, these were worries that she wanted to keep to herself... herself and perhaps one other.

With a soft chime, the elevator doors slowly slid open to allow her entry into the cavernous room. Without even stopping to admire the amazingly delicate tapestries that lined the stone walls, Elisa shoved her hands in her pocket and turned down the hallway that she knew would lead her to the clan. It was in the renovated part of the castle that Xanatos had so graciously donated to the clan that she would find Goliath. They needed to talk.

Moments later Elisa emerged into the large room that was decked out in the latest of entertainment equipment. And like she expected, the entire clan was gathered here. Per usual, Hudson was lounging in the soft arm chair in front of the large screened television with Bronx at his side. On the couch beside him sat Brooklyn, engaged in the same program as his elder. Against the other wall sat Lexington, his eyes trained on the computer screen before him while Angela and Broadway sat at a small table putting together a puzzle. To the other side was Goliath, a calm look on his face as he read out of an old hard cover novel. Despite her quiet entrance, all eyes immediately turned in her direction as she entered the room. Unable to hide her amusement, Elisa laughed and shook her head. "Your guys' amazing hearing will never cease to amaze me!"

Smiling at the sound of her laughter, Goliath allowed one of his rare smiles to show. "An admitted aid to our kind," he acknowledged as he put his book aside and strode across the room to greet her with a hug, ever conscious of the clan's eyes.

"So lass, did ye find out anythin' 'bout the button that ye found?" Hudson asked as he muted the sound of the television, his curious gaze leveled on the raven haired woman.

Startled, Elisa threw a quick glance in Angela's direction. Catching her friend's confused and worried gaze, Angela spoke up quickly. "I told the clan about your and Matt's assignment and about our... uneventful night at the warehouse," Angela said, pausing a bit over the blatant lie.

Smiling her thanks at the young gargoyle, Elisa turned her gaze to the wizened old gargoyle. "I only wish Hudson... I just spent the last four hours wasting my time--I couldn't come up with a single thing on the button."

Curiosity lighting up his face, Lexington quickly jumped away from the computer and scampered across the room. "Hey Elisa, can I see it? Maybe I'll be able to find something that your lab people missed!"

Smiling at his eagerness, Elisa gently withdrew her only scrap of evidence from her tight jeans pocket and gingerly passed it to the small green gargoyle. "Sure Lex, just be careful with it."

"I will Elisa," Lexington promised with a small grin as he grabbed the button and rushed back over to his computer, his two rookery brothers on his tail. With that, the room once more turned back to normal. The three male gargoyles were working on the mysterious button while Hudson and Bronx resumed watching their show.

Still maintaining her small smile, Elisa turned slightly and looked in Angela's direction. To her consternation, Elisa saw a small frown on the young gargess's face. Nodding slowly, she knew what Angela wanted her to do. "Um Goliath?" Elisa asked quietly as she reached out and squeezed the large lavender hand.

"Yes Elisa?" Goliath asked, confused by the defeated look upon his love's face.

"Can I talk with you for a moment.. alone?" she asked, nodding her head in the direction of the library.

Taking her hint, Goliath nodded slowly and led his detective friend down the hallway. As they disappeared from sight, the sole person who saw this exchange turned her worried eyes away. ~Father will know what is wrong and how to fix it~ she mentally consoled herself as she turned back towards the clan.

************************************************************************************************

Library

As the large oak door quietly clicked shut behind Goliath, he turned to face Elisa.. or tried to. Instead, he found her nervously pacing the spacious and cozy room. "Elisa," Goliath asked, concern shading his voice, "what is it that you wanted to speak with me about?" Even as he asked the question, mentally he tried to answer it on his own. Could it be the case? Perhaps there was more going on then she had mentioned earlier... perhaps Demona was up to no good again. Or it could be something else as well--maybe she was still concerned over the Krishna issue. Shaking his head, Goliath realized that it could be one of a number of things, and that only Elisa could shed some light on it.

Sighing, Elisa stopped her nervous pacing and looked down at the soft oriental carpet that lay across the cold stone floor. What should she do? What would Goliath think when she told him all that had happened? Shaking her head, Elisa started pacing again, ignoring the baffled looks that Goliath kept sending in her direction. The answers all pointed to the fact that the small bit of blood that Goliath had given her was enough to make her into a.. no.. but it couldn't be! It was only a small drop of Krishna's blood--surely that wasn't enough to.. to change her. Sighing, Elisa thought back to one of her conversations with the vampire: "the night will come when I finally take your last drop, leaving your body with nothing, until I open my veins to you and you drink..."

"Elisa?" Goliath asked again.

If that was the truth, if she had been changed, what was she to do now? Was there a cure to such a thing? What would happen to her? Her friends, her family.. how could she ever face any of them again like this? Even more important, how would Goliath react? Could he possibly still love her if her worst fears were confirmed?!... but maybe she was wrong. It was possible... perhaps she was just sick and imagining everything else. That could be it--just her imagination working over time. Actually, that **HAD** to be it. The other idea was just impossible! Too fanciful to ever happen to her.. right? Groaning, Elisa slowly shook her head. No matter the case, it was obvious that this was a problem that she couldn't solve easily on her own. And who else to turn to but Goliath? True, she had only known him for a little over two years now, but in that time he had become her best friend. In that short amount of time, he not only caught her from falling, but he also captured her heart. Whatever was going on, he would face it with her.

"Elisa, what..."

"Goliath, I have to talk to you about something," Elisa interrupted as she stopped her pacing. Ever so slowly, Elisa lifted her head and met the dark eyes of her love. Very slowly, she crossed the distance between them, trying her best to quell the fears that she felt in her heart. Reaching down, she very gently took his large hands into hers and looked into his eyes. "Goliath, I..." Elisa began when a sudden smell entered her nose. Stopping in her tracks, Elisa felt a whirlwind of desires and feelings fill her being as she quivered, trying to recapture the elusive scent. Ever so slowly, she turned her dark eyes down till they rested on the large hands of her love. There. That was where the scent emanated from.

"Elisa?" Goliath asked in confusion, he too looking down at his hands to see what had so captured her attention.

Confused at the strange yearnings and at the hunger that now thundered painfully against her sides, Elisa slowly flipped over one of Goliath's hands. As if drawn like a magnet, her eyes quickly focused on a small drop of red that lay pooled at the end of a small scratch on the back of one of his taloned hands. Gasping as the feelings increased, Elisa stared in wonder at the small drop of blood that lay there... blood. "You're hurt," she whispered quietly, in awe of the blood.

Finally noticing what had so captured his love's attention, Goliath cleared his throat nervously. For some reason, her stare began to make him feel uncomfortable, although he couldn't say why. "Uh.. it is nothing... a small paper cut from reading earlier..." Goliath began to explain when Elisa did the strangest thing. Ever so slowly, without wavering her gaze, she slowly raised his hand up to her sensuous mouth and placed her lips against the wound. Amazed at the sensation of Elisa's sweet lips against his skin and her delicate tongue which ran teasingly over the wound, Goliath stood speechless, all thought of words fleeing his mind. All thoughts of **EVERYTHING** leaving in an instant under the hypnotic feelings.

Elisa, too, was mesmerized, but with decidedly different reasons. As the drop of blood touched her tongue, a wave of something filled her to the core... a wave of.. ecstasy? Before she knew what she was doing, Elisa began to suck, softly at first, but soon harder and harder at the wound, urging more of the fluid to come forth into her awaiting mouth. For the first time, the burning hunger began to be satisfied, and in it's place was a peace and joy that Elisa had never before known. Suddenly, a single flare of pain in her mouth broke the reverie that she was in. Gasping, Elisa dropped Goliath's hand and turned away, her hand covering her mouth.

Surprised as well at what had just occurred and at the sudden stop, Goliath watched in muddled confusion as Elisa bent over in pain. "Elisa?" he asked quietly, unnerved at the weakness displayed in his usually strong voice.

Ignoring his concerned question, Elisa slowly touched her finger to her tongue and then pulled it away quickly, amazed at the drop of her own blood that glistened on her finger tip. As fear and horror began spreading throughout her body, Elisa slowly slid her tongue up and over her smooth white teeth. Gasping, she drew her tongue away quickly as it was pricked once again. Standing straight, her back still turned to Goliath, Elisa reached a quivering hand up slowly and gently fingered the two sharp canine teeth that were now extended from her mouth. "No, oh God no," she whispered quietly, the horror of knowledge and of the truth revealed filling her.

"Elisa?" Goliath asked again, his voice a little more solid and sure this time.

Shaking her head as Goliath's voice slowly intruded upon her dark thoughts, Elisa quickly turned and darted away from Goliath. She couldn't let him see her like this.. not now, not ever. Running as fast as she could, her footfalls at light as air as the castle whipped by, Elisa ran towards the elevator. To her immense relief, the door was just slipping shut as she squeezed within. Without wasting a second, Elisa quickly reached over and jabbed her finger viciously at the button that would take her down to the first floor of the building.

"Jesus, what's after you?!"

Surprised at the voice, Elisa quickly straightened her shoulders in the elevator, her face to the door. "Matt," Elisa whispered as every muscle in her body tensed. How stupid was she! Of course someone was in the elevator.. why else would the door have just been closing? She couldn't let him see her like this!

Exasperated that he was faced with his partner's stiff back, Matt stepped forward in the small elevator and placed his left hand, the one that was only bound in a cast to aid his wrist, on her shoulder. "Elisa? Why'd you run in here like you were being chased from a bat outta hell?"

Suddenly, something in Elisa snapped--perhaps her humanity. Growling low in her throat, she turned suddenly and threw Matt's arm off of her and faced her partner. In that instant, all thoughts that could be called rational--all thoughts that belonged to her and were what made her up as a person vanished.

Gasping, Matt quickly jumped back against the wall, astonished at what lay before him. It was his partner--but not. Elisa's features were all twisted into a vicious mask that spelled out only death and suffering. To make matters worse, if possible, her beautiful brown eyes now glowed red and two sharp and pointed fangs were bared in his direction. For the first time in his life, Matt feared for his life--from Elisa.

Hissing at him and showing her fangs, Elisa coiled up and made ready to pounce when a sudden ding sounded from behind her. To Matt's immense relief, the elevator doors slid open with a soft whoosh and Elisa bolted into the brightly lit lobby. As people scattered left and right in hope of avoiding the monster that was Elisa Maza, she crashed through the glass doors and into the night beyond.

Gasping at what just occurred, Matt slid down the back of the elevator and pressed a clammy hand to his forehead. "What in the hell just happened?" he muttered as he closed his eyes tightly, another headache coming on.

************************************************************************************************

"There she is!" one of the darkly dressed men hissed as Elisa bolted from the Aerie building. "Now is our chance! Let's get her!"

"No Gabriel!" Jorge growled as he reached out and grabbed the younger and more inexperienced man. "There are too many mortals around. We will follow her and wait for the right time."

"But.."

"We cannot fail the Mistress again... as it is, she may not let us live for our first mistake," was his only reply as his cold eyes followed Elisa's inhumanly fast movements.

************************************************************************************************

Library

Shaking his head, Goliath ran back through what had just occurred for about the tenth time in a row, still trying to make sense of what just happened. It seemed harmless, what Elisa had done. Bizarre, of course, but nothing dangerous from her actions. Yet for some reason, Goliath couldn't shake the idea that the scene that just occurred was wrong in some horrible way--immorally wrong even. How was it that Elisa was able to see the wrong in her actions, yet it still alluded him? For that had to be the reason for her rapid departure--a departure so fast that his eyes could barely make out her fleeing form. Then again, that didn't make any sense. That just had to of been a part of his stupor. Still, Elisa must have sensed that something was wrong.. but what? Whatever it was, it must of had to do with whatever Elisa was going to tell him--something important.

"Father?"

Turning his head, Goliath watched as Angela poked her head inside the room, a look of concern upon her face. "Ah, yes Angela.. come in.."

"Father, where is Elisa?" Angela asked as she stepped fully into the room, noting the dazed and confused expression that covered her father's proud features.

"Ah.. she left," Goliath mumbled, trying to decide if that was the accurate word for her departure.

"I see," Angela said slowly, her frown deepening. Surely Elisa couldn't have told Goliath everything that had happened at the warehouse and have the conversation completed so quickly... which meant that Elisa hadn't told him. Looking up into her father's dark eyes, Angela debated with herself quickly. It was wrong of her to keep such a secret from her clan, from her father. It was even more wrong that Elisa had asked her to do such a thing in the first place. But what could she do? This was something that Elisa should discuss with him--it wasn't her place to tell... was it?

"Angela? What is it?" Goliath asked slowly, watching as a mix of emotions passed over his daughter's face. She had always been an easy one to read, her emotions playing over her face. Even now, he could see that she was at war with herself to do what was right. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. Thinking back, Goliath remembered the quick look that passed between Angela and Elisa before she had mentioned that she needed to tell him something. With a nod of his head, everything clicked into place. Stepping forward, Goliath gently took his daughter's hands into his own and stared into her eyes that were so much like his own. "Angela, you know what Elisa was going to tell me."

The statement was less of a question and more of an acknowledgment. Gulping, Angela averted her eyes quickly, the decision of the right thing to do weighing heavily on her mind.

"Angela, if you know what Elisa was going to say, then you must tell me... I believe that something is wrong," Goliath said slowly, only realizing as he stated those words that the thing that was so wrong was in fact with Elisa herself. "Angela, what is going on?"

Sighing, Angela bit her lip slowly. "Father... I.. I promised Elisa that I wouldn't tell," she said slowly, her voice catching over the words.

Shaking his head, Goliath reached up and forced his daughter's chin so that he was once more staring into her dark eyes. "Angela," he rumbled slowly, his gaze never leaving hers, "if you know something is wrong, you must tell me. I cannot help her if I do not know what is going on."

Sighing, Angela knew that her father was, as always, right. Strengthening her resolve, Angela straightened her shoulders and met her father's direct stare. "Tonight, at the warehouse, something strange happened."

"Go on," Goliath urged, a strange sort of dread washing over him.

"I was on the roof listening through the transceiver as Elisa searched the warehouse.. I heard other voices and realized that Elisa was in trouble. It took me a couple of minutes to squeeze through the hole in the skylight, and when I got there, I saw that there was a masked human lying balled up against the wall and... and Elisa held another man by the neck suspended in the air."

"What?" Goliath asked in disbelief. For some reason, this was not the answer that he had been expecting.

"Yes Father.. it was amazing!" Angela gasped. "It was as though she was as strong as a gargoyle--stronger even!"

"But that's not possible!" Goliath said quickly, shaking his head in disbelief.

"I know, but it gets worse! The man that was on the floor got up behind Elisa and pulled out a gun. I barely had time to shout out a warning when she was shot point blank in the stomach!"

"What?!" Goliath growled in disbelief, his eyes lighting up a bright white as he flared his wings out in anger.

"But Father, she wasn't hurt!" Angela said quickly, her eyes as wide as saucers.

"I don't understand, you just said.." Goliath started in confusion, his anger abiding.

"That's what worries me so! I saw Elisa get shot! I felt her body recoil back into mine from the bullet, yet she wasn't hurt!" Angela explained quickly, still trying to make sense of the situation.

"So you're saying that Elisa was both strong, fast, and she was unaffected by this man's bullets?" Goliath asked, the skepticism obvious in his voice.

Sighing, Angela shook her head slowly. "I know how this sounds Father, but I'm telling the truth! Elisa made me promise afterwards to not tell you or the clan about it... but I just couldn't keep it from you."

Nodding, Goliath looked down at his daughter. "And you did the right thing, Angela. Whatever is going on, Elisa may need our help."

Before Angela had a chance to respond, the door to the library burst open revealing an out of breath Lexington. "Goliath, Angela, you guys gotta come to the entertainment room! Matt's back and you won't believe what he just said about Elisa!"

"Elisa?" Angela asked quickly, worry covering her face.

"Matt is back?" Goliath asked just as quickly as he followed the young warrior from the room.

"Yeah, while you and Elisa were talking, Matt came over to talk with Elisa. When we told her that you guys were busy, he said that he was just going to head home and he'd talk to her tomorrow," Lexington explained as he hurried down the dark hallway and into the room.

As soon as Goliath stepped into the room, he knew that something was going on. Surrounding Matt on all sides were the clan while Owen and Xanatos stood against wall playing with a computer monitor installed there. "What has happened? Where is Elisa?" Goliath asked quickly as he broke in on the mass of confused and jumbled voices.

Noticing the lavender leader for the first time, Matt quickly turned. "I don't know Goliath, but something has happened to her," he said quickly as he stepped over to the giant leader.

As Goliath's eyes narrowed, he slowly replayed Angela's confused and concerned words over in his mind. Then, he remembered everything else that had occurred between them over the last couple of weeks. From Krishna, to Elisa's complaints about her health, to her strange behavior earlier. "Explain," Goliath growled out slowly.

Nodding his head, Matt began to rub his hand where Elisa had so viciously grabbed him earlier. "Just as the elevator doors were closing, Elisa ran in and hit the down button. She wouldn't answer me when I talked to her, and when she finally turned around... well, it wasn't her."

"What do you mean it wasn't her?" Goliath asked slowly, his head spinning.

"She.. she changed! It was Elisa, but it wasn't! She looked like she wanted to kill me!"

"Not Elisa!" Angela interrupted quickly, her voice weak as she knew that it was a feeble protest.

"Goliath, her eyes were glowing red and.. she had fangs... she looked like Krishna," Matt said quietly, his eyes turning so sad that it was enough to cause anyone's heart to break.

"No," Goliath breathed, all of his fears confirmed. It couldn't be true... the blood that he gave her to live was just a drop.. just a small drop. Surely that wasn't enough to change her into.. into a vampire! But the hunger that she mentioned earlier, her heavy sleep during the day, her remarkable recovery, her energy during the night, her strength, speed... the scene earlier in the library. It all made sense. "No," Goliath repeated, his voice more firm. He would not believe it. He would not allow himself to entertain the thought that his Elisa.. his love could be changed into one of those monsters.

"Goliath, over here," Xanatos called out from the other side of the room.

As if moving in a dream, Goliath crossed the small distance across the room and stood beside the billionaire, the clan gathered behind them. "What is it Xanatos?" Goliath growled out, already trying to find a way to defeat the idea of Elisa being changed in his mind.

"Owen and I just dug up the security video of in the elevator," Xanatos said quickly as his fingers flew over the keyboard.

His interest instantly peaked, Goliath leaned forward and watched as the monitor before them gradually opened up to reveal the elevator. Because the camera was positioned high in the back corner of the elevator, you could just see Matt leaning up against the other back corner. Suddenly, a blur flashed in front of the screen and entered the elevator as the doors slid shut. Looking closer, Goliath easily recognized Elisa's long black hair and red bomber jacket as she stared at the door. Then, Bluestone stepped closer to Elisa and touched her gently on the shoulder. Amazed, the clan watched as Elisa twisted around quickly and nearly threw Matt against the back of the elevator. To their astonishment, they saw that Matt's description was correct. They barely recognized the thing that was on the screen. There stood Elisa's proud form in her red bomber jacket, her shiny black hair trailing behind her shoulders. But from there on, everything was different. Elisa's face, which usually held nothing more than a smile or a carefree smirk, was now twisted into a grotesque look of hatred and.. hunger. Even in black and white, the different shading of her large eyes was more than apparent. And just like Matt described, Elisa was snarling at the camera form of Matt.. snarling a mouth that held two sharp and pointed fangs. Still, the most disturbing thing about the picture wasn't the fangs or the glowing eyes, but instead the alien look in Elisa's eyes. There was no recognition of her partner in those eyes, but instead the look a snake may have just before it devours a tiny field mouse. The look of a cold hunter about ready to strike upon its prey.

Coughing slightly, Owen managed to gain the attention of all those gathered in the room. "I'm afraid that Detective Maza has been changed into a vampire," he intoned quietly, stating the obvious to the group.

Closing his eyes against the paused screen of the alien Elisa, Goliath shook his head slowly. "Where is she?" he ground out slowly, his eyes squeezed tight.

"I cannot say," Owen answered simply, his rock hand stationary at his side. "We have very few cameras outside of the Aerie building, so the last shot we have is Miss Maza disappearing on foot into the city of New York."

"We have to find her," Goliath said quickly as he flared out his wings and began walking towards the door that would take him to the battlements.

Nodding their heads, the clan quickly fell into step behind their leader. They all loved and treasured their human friend dearly, and they would stop at nothing to get her back. Still, one gargoyle hung back from the clan. "Lad, ye cannae expect to find the lass when she is on foot in such a big city as ours," Hudson broke in gently, calling out to the gargoyle's retreating back.

Freezing upon hearing his mentor's words, Goliath's shoulders tightened. "We have no choice. We must find Elisa before.. before something happens."

"You do have one other choice," Xanatos broke in from his position next to the monitor. As all of the gargoyles turned to face their newest enemy turn friend, Xanatos smiled his famous smile. "After the incident with Krishna, I took it upon myself to place a homing chip on the Detective's jacket. If she's wearing the jacket, then we can find her."

Growling at the man's words, Goliath took a menacing step forward. "I seriously doubt that Elisa gave you permission to do this?" Goliath asked quickly, his eyes narrowing.

"Of course not. Due to my past with the Detective, her giving me permission to that would have been out of the question... then again, the detective is an integral part of my and my family's life now, meaning that her well being is now of my concern," Xanatos said quietly, a small frown tearing at his smile.

Sighing, Goliath allowed his eyes to turn back to their normal color. "Elisa will not be pleased to hear of this, but for now, we are thankful that you did what you did."

Shrugging his shoulders, Xanatos quickly turned his back on the gargoyles and began typing away at the computer monitor once again. "According to the tracker, Detective Maza is heading at an extremely fast clip towards Central Park." Turning, Xanatos quickly pushed a button on the console which caused a small portion of the wall to slide open, revealing a small hand held device within. Without wasting a second, Xanatos quickly took out the device and handed it over to Lexington. "You should be able to track her movements with this."

Nodding his head, Lexington quickly began pushing buttons on the small device until a display came up on the small screen. Smiling, he turned and nodded towards Goliath. "I've got her."

"Good, then let's be off," Goliath said quickly as he once more began his fast pace towards the battlements. Just as he climbed on the old stone ledge and prepared to launch off to find his love, a single voice stopped him..

"Wait for me!" Matt yelled as he ran forward.

Nodding his head quickly, Goliath nodded to Brooklyn. Understanding quickly, Brooklyn easily swung the bandaged detective onto his back. Even though he knew that Matt would be of no help to them in his current condition, he also knew that there was no way the detective would be left behind. His partner was in danger, and therefore, he was ready to come to her aid in any way he could.

"And what, may I ask, are you going to do once you find the detective," Owen asked quietly as he stepped forward quickly, a restraining hand on the large lavender leader.

"We shall bring her back to the castle," Goliath replied, his stare icy as he launched himself into the dark night sky, shrugging the hand away. Throwing glances at the manservant, the clan quickly followed suit.

"In that case," Xanatos murmured as the gargoyles soared away, "you better prepare the medlab for her arrival."

"Sir?"

"We need to find some kind of cure for her... and you may want to have some blood bagged up and ready to go," Xanatos said grimly as he turned and walked away, intent on finding and filling in his wife on what was going down.

Sighing, Owen nodded slowly as he took out his ever ready cell phone and dialed a number quickly. "Yes, I need you to contact the Red Cross and see if you can get your hands on some blood samples... Yes, I am already aware that we have a good stock of samples on hand. I need you to get at least twenty more bags from them.. No, it doesn't matter the type and money is of no expense in this matter. And I need it tonight."

************************************************************************************************

Central Park

Snarling at the people that flew past Elisa's line of vision, the monster that she had become ran faster. So fast, that the humans that she flew by only caught the briefest glimpse of red before the being disappeared into the night. Block by block, mile by mile went by as Elisa ran.. from what, she could no longer remember. All she knew was the hunger that was eating her alive. The hunger that had been there for so long, but had recently been reactivated... the hunger that needed to be satisfied. Yet, the hunger wasn't what was driving her now. No, instead it was the basic survival mechanism. Something had threatened her, whether it be physically or something else, and now she needed to run, to escape from that thing before it threatened her   
existence more.. threatened what little sanity remained. For the part of Elisa that made her who she was had taken a forced back seat for the moment as the animal in her took over. Yet, it wasn't so much like an animal than a monster that ruled her body now.. ruled her ever changing body. Changing not in large noticeable ways, but instead they were small. As she ran, the two fangs that had extended earlier glistened in the bright moonlight. Her large, brown eyes continued to glow that dark red light. Even now, her skin began to glisten and turn pale as the need burned inside of her.. the need to be satisfied.

Suddenly, Elisa came to a screeching halt. For some reason, she wasn't even breathing hard from her fast run.. for another even stranger reason, this fact didn't puzzle her. Nostrils flaring, Elisa slowly tilted her head to the left and right, taking in her new surroundings. Everywhere she looked, tall trees towered above her, offering protection from other creatures of the night... creatures perhaps like herself... perhaps not. Standing straight and tall, Elisa flexed her strong muscles and stared into the dark night--a night made brighter by her keen vision. Nothing moved before her, yet her sharp hearing detected the sharp crack of a breaking branch behind her. Her nostrils quivering, Elisa detected the faint smell of the thing that she so desired.. blood. It was roaring within the creature behind her. Smiling a cold smile, Elisa stared into the dark night and waited for her prey to make itself known. She didn't have to wait long.

As the man stepped through the trees, he kept his eyes trained on the woman before him. All he could make out in the dark night which was protected from the sheltering trees above was her lithe form contained in a dark pair of blue jeans and a striking red jacket. Down her back cascaded a wave of black glossy hair. Sneering at the woman's stupidity and his own good fortune, the man slowly withdrew a long wicked knife from its sheath and brandished it boldly before her. "Turn around real slow lady and give me all of your money," he called out, his voice sinister.

Ever so slowly, without a sound being made, the woman turned round as commanded. Yet the sight before him was enough to cause the man to stand frozen in fear. "Oh my God.. what are you?!" the man screamed out as he took in her deathly pale face, the red burning eyes, and the sharp and pointed fangs that protruded from her mouth.

Ignoring the man's scream, Elisa darted forward with inhuman like speed and grabbed the man viciously by the front of his coat lapels. Hissing at the jabbering fool, she then pulled him close to her and reached forward with her mouth. Ignoring everything else but the hunger that was consuming her, Elisa sank her long fangs into the man's tender neck. So eager for the sweet taste of his life, she quickly ripped her fangs back out, taking a large portion of his skin with her. As the blood gushed forward, Elisa quickly put her pale lips to his ravaged neck and sucked greedily at the large wound. Instantly, the sweet nectar that brought her life and sustained her filled her mouth and cascaded down her throat. As the warm liquid began filling her belly, a feeling of ecstasy enveloped her. Ignoring the small drops of red that escaped her lips and trailed down her pale chin, Elisa sunk down to her knees with the man and soon cradled his head in her lap, his dying body lying on the cold ground.

************************************************************************************************

"Goliath! According to the homing beacon she should be right below us!" Lexington called out as he glided closer to his leader.

Nodding his head, Goliath began surveying the trees below him. Suddenly, he caught a flash of red in a break of the trees. Without even taking the time to mention what he saw to the clan, Goliath dipped his wings and soared towards the ground. As he flew through the small opening between branches, the sight on the ground became clear to him... the sight of his Elisa leaning over a man on the leave scattered ground below, her mouth attached firmly to his neck. "No, Elisa!" Goliath roared out as he changed trajectory.

At Goliath's call that slowly slithered into her blood lust haze, Elisa barely had time to lift her head before something plowed into her from behind. Grunting in pain, Elisa dropped the man that she had been feeding on and went plowing into the earth beyond. Groaning at what felt like a ton of bricks lying over her, she watched as the world went dark.

Shaking his head to clear his dazed vision, Goliath slowly pulled his aching body off of the ground.. and off of Elisa. Never before in his life had he experienced such a hard landing. Suddenly, that word echoed in his mind. Elisa. Groaning, he fell to his knees and looked at her unmoving body before him. "What have I done?" Goliath whispered as he took in the leaves and dirt tangled in her beautiful black hair, her pale face, the red blood smeared by her mouth, the trench of torn up dirt that they left behind them, and her peaceful expression. Now she looked so calm and peaceful, so much like an angel that it was hard to believe what he saw earlier.... until his eyes drifted back to the fresh blood that dripped down her chin... and back up to her unmoving form. What was he thinking--plowing into Elisa with such force and landing on top of her small body no less.. he could of killed her. Then again, seeing her bent over the man like Krishna had been with her not so long ago, he knew that he had no choice in the matter. Suddenly, his eyes darted to her face as Elisa groaned quietly. Gasping in relief, Goliath sat back and shook his head slowly. He was afraid that he **HAD** killed her.

"Goliath?"

Turning around quickly as Brooklyn's voice broke into his reverie, Goliath noticed the clan landing softly on the upturned earth behind him. Immediately, Matt jumped out of Brooklyn's arms and knelt before Elisa's victim. Gasping, Angela looked back and forth between Elisa's still form behind Goliath and the unmoving man. As her eyes lit up, he knew that his daughter had put the pieces together. Sighing, Angela let the sadness show in her eyes as she looked at the trail that marked her father's descent and at Elisa's still form once again. "Is she..." Angela trailed off sadly, a mix of emotions playing within her.

"She's alive but we must hurry," Goliath interrupted quickly. Turning, he looked at Matt's creased brow as he felt for a pulse on the man. "Is he alive?"

Sighing, Matt reached forward and pushed the unseeing eyes shut of the ravaged man. "He's dead," he whispered, closing his own eyes against the sight.

Growling, Goliath shook his head slowly. He was too late. Slapping himself mentally, Goliath realized that despite the tragedy, they needed to act, and act now. Turning his head sharply, Goliath looked sternly at his clan. "We shall deal with the man later. Right now we need to get Elisa back to the Aerie.."

"Father, watch out!" Angela cried out suddenly, her eyes wide.

Instantly wary, Goliath turned quickly and watched as Elisa's eyes snapped open. To his horror, her beautiful eyes were glowing an evil reddish color. Before he had a chance to act or move, Elisa acted. With inhuman strength, she rocked onto her back and then flipped onto her feet. "No, Elisa.." Goliath started to call out as she reached forward and lifted him by the neck. With speed that was so fast that his eyes couldn't follow, Elisa threw Goliath as though he weighed nothing across the large clearing and into a tree beyond, effectively reducing the tree into toothpicks. Instantly, Angela was by her father's side, a wary eye trained on Elisa.

Standing ready, Elisa turned and hissed at the rest of the clan. Despite the fact that she just fed, the hunger was already gnawing at her sides when faced with all of the mortals before her. Like before, the hunger controlled all thoughts and all emotions. That was all she was, and it showed on her face as she looked from face to face.

"Lad, ye better get behind me," Hudson muttered as he grabbed Matt and gently pushed him behind him. With his sword ready, Hudson watched as the three rookery brothers formed a semi-circle, a barrier between Elisa and the clan. Glancing over his shoulder, Hudson saw that Goliath was still down with Angela trying desperately to get him to his feet.

"Elisa, you don't want to do this," Brooklyn said slowly as he faced his human friend.

"Yeah, Elisa, snap out of it!" Broadway cried out. "This isn't you!" It **WASN'T** Elisa before them. It couldn't be. He, like the rest, cared deeply for their human friend and it tore them all apart to think that if she didn't back off, they'd soon have to fight her in order to protect the clan.

Her only answer to their cries was to hiss once again, showing off her bloody fangs. Suddenly, her eyes focused on Lexington. Hissing in fury, she knew that she couldn't take the time to feed on one when faced with so many, which meant that she had to take them out of commission before she could have the sweet reward of blood. For to her, her quarries resembled not the friends she'd had for the last two years, but instead lunch ready for the picking. Before anyone could cry out a warning or before Lexington could react, Elisa was upon him. Moving faster than their eyes could follow, she jumped forward and swung her arm fast and hard across his innocent green face. With a crack that echoed throughout the trees, Lexington's head swung sideways as he flew back and to the ground. Gasping, everyone watched as he moaned once before becoming still on the leave strewn ground beside Hudson.

Growling at the sight of his rookery brother being attacked, Brooklyn spread out his wings with a snap and felt his eyes begin to glow their deadly white. With Lexington being dealt out of the game, he now knew that he had no other options but to defend himself and his clan with whatever means necessary. "I'm sorry Elisa!" Brooklyn yelled out as he jumped forward and tackled Elisa to the ground, slamming her head against a large rock that littered the forest floor. Growling, Brooklyn pinned her arms to her sides and stared into her red eyes, hoping and praying for some kind of recognition. He got none. To make matters even worse, the hard slam against her head did nothing to faze her. "Oh crap," was the last words he got to mutter as Elisa hissed up at him. Once again moving with lightning fast reflexes, she quickly shoved his arms up, lifted her legs and planted them against his midsection and then shoved back as hard as she could. Grunting in pain, Brooklyn watched the ground fly beneath him as he was propelled across the clearing. Before he even had a chance to extend his wings in hope of slowing his descent, Brooklyn felt his head connect with a tree branch as everything went dark.

"Brooklyn!" Angela cried out as she watched him being thrown across the clearing. Wincing, Angela turned her eyes away as his head first connected with a large branch before he slammed into a tree and then sunk to the ground below. "Father, you need to wake up!" Angela cried out as she turned once more back to her father. His impact with the tree had left the large gargoyle leader unconscious with a thin stream of blood trickling down his face. She knew that his wounds weren't life threatening, and that the sun would heal them, but she also knew that sunrise was still a good four hours away. In the meantime, they still had Elisa to deal with... an Elisa who was busy fighting and hurting her clan.

Roaring in rage, Broadway watched the exchange between Brooklyn and Elisa. Before his brother even hit the ground, Broadway was upon her, hoping beyond hope that he would be able to use the element of surprise against her. He was wrong. As if sensing his movements, Elisa turned towards the large, portly blue gargoyle so fast that he was unable to stop his forward movements. Gasping, Broadway ran straight into Elisa's arms, her red eyes burning into his.

As if she were throwing a newspaper, Elisa used Broadway's forward momentum against him and threw him towards the other end of the clearing where yet another tree was demolished. Grinning through her blood lust, Elisa then turned to the two other mortals who were still standing.

"Lass, I nae be wanting to hurt ye," Hudson growled as he watched her stalk them slowly, a demonic grin upon her face, "but I will fight ye if I hav' ta."

"Uh, Hudson?" Matt asked slowly as he backed away from his partner, only the elder standing between him and death. "Maybe this isn't such a good idea," the detective said slowly. Unwillingly, the memories of Krishna's cruel attack on him came to mind. The pain of being tortured slowly by the monster was something that had probably scarred him for life--something that he would never forget. From Elisa's demonstrations of her powers earlier with the clan, it was obvious to him that for some reason, she would be capable of the same cruelties if she got close enough to him... which she undoubtedly would.

Hissing, Elisa darted towards Hudson quickly, the blood lust ruling her mind. Moving with lightning reflexes that belied his old age, Hudson met her oncoming attack with a swipe of his old sword. Growling, he watched as she darted away from his attack, but not soon enough so as to avoid a nasty gash on her right arm. Crying out at the pain and at her own blood that shone in the bright moonlight, Elisa turned her red eyes once more on the old gargoyle.

"Lass, I don't want to hurt ye!" Hudson cried out, strangely ashamed that he had struck down Elisa with his sword, yet disappointed that he didn't do more damage.

"Hudson, I don't think that she shares that desire!" Matt cried out as Elisa charged once again.

Once more, Hudson was ready for her, his sword ready. Yet, to his astonishment, at the last moment Elisa flipped right over him, landing solidly on her feet behind him. Turning quickly, Elisa performed her amazing round house kick on Hudson just as he turned round to face her. Unfortunately for Hudson, due to her enhanced strength, that one kick was the last thing he saw as her leg snapped up and struck his chin, effectively knocking him into unconsciousness.

"Uh oh," Matt muttered as he slowly began back tracking, watching as Hudson went down before him. Smiling evilly, the thing that used to be his partner turned around and hissed at him, the blood from her kill still dripping down her chin. "Elisa," Matt murmured, his eyes pleading with her, "you don't want to do this! It's me, Matt!" he cried out as she slowly reached a hand up and wiped the trail of blood from her chin, her cold eyes focused on him. Gulping, Matt slowly reached down and took his revolver from the holster in his trench coat. With shaky arms, he raised it and focused the gun onto his partner. Hissing at him, Elisa reared back and suddenly darted forward. Closing his eyes, Matt quickly fired off shot after shot at his partner until his clip was empty. Opening his eyes once again, he saw that all shots hit their mark as Elisa stumbled back, fresh blood soaking her black shirt. Yet to his amazement, the bullets only slowed her down. Standing straight, Elisa hissed at him once again and began advancing. Groaning, Matt remembered that his bullets had the same effect on Krishna.. why did he even bother to hope that it would be any different this time? In seconds, Elisa was before him. Closing his eyes, Matt waited for the end to come.

"Elisa, no!" Angela yelled out as she left her father's side for the first time. Charging the short distance across the clearing, Angela stopped in the center and watched in fear as the monster slowly turned around and faced her. "Come and get me!" she cried out bravely.

Grinning at the young mortal's words, Elisa slowly began moving towards her new prey. Showing her fangs at the young one, Elisa snapped her arm back and hit the weak mortal behind her in the head, causing him to fall to the ground unconscious. She would save him for later.

"No!" Angela cried out as she watched Matt fall to the ground like a dead weight.

That second of distraction was the one thing that Elisa needed as she quickly darted forward with inhuman speed. In less than a second she reached the young one and wrapped her hand around the young gargess's throat.

Choking, Angela stared at Elisa through wide eyes. Amazed, she felt herself being lifted into the air as black spots started to appear in her vision. Then, through darkening eyes, Angela watched numbly as Elisa opened her mouth wide and slowly brought it to her throat.

Groaning, Goliath slowly lifted his head. What had happened? Shaking his head, Goliath looked around the wooded clearing. Gasping, he first saw Lexington lying, unmoving on the ground besides the dead man. On the other side of the clearing lay Brooklyn and Broadway, demolished trees besides them. And in the center of the clearing lay Matt and Hudson, both out as well while Elisa stood front and center with Angela in her grips. Knowing that he needed to act fast in order to save his daughter's life, Goliath charged across the clearing, ignoring all the pain he felt, and tackled his beloved to the ground.

Screaming her rage, Elisa quickly kicked Goliath off of her and reversed their positions with her straddling his large form. Still, despite the difference in their sizes, with Elisa's strong arms pinning his to the ground Goliath couldn't move. Growling, Goliath looked past Elisa and watched as Angela weakly put a hand to her throat and was relieved to see that no blood marred his daughter's skin. Turning back, Goliath looked up into Elisa's glowing red eyes. Try as he might, he couldn't find anything at all recognizable in that cold and hungry gaze... could it be that she was gone?

Hissing at her attacker, Elisa licked her lips hungrily. Her wounds had caused her to lose some of her own blood making her weaker now and in need of nourishment... nourishment that this mortal could provide. Grinning evilly, Elisa slowly began lowering her mouth to his throat, her glowing red eyes locked on his large dark ones.

Gasping through a bruised wind pipe, Angela looked up in horror at Elisa's bending form. "No, father!" Angela screamed as she tried to get to her feet to come to his aid.. she was just too weak from her struggle with Elisa.. she couldn't make it!

Knowing what was coming next, Goliath continued to stare into Elisa's eyes, searching for his loved one somewhere deep within. "Elisa," Goliath whispered as her teeth inched ever closer, "I know that you're in there... I love you..."

Sighing, Elisa lowered her lips to the mortal's neck when his words entered her foggy mind. 'I love you' echoed back and forth through her mind, reaching and accessing something that had left her for awhile due to the blood lust: her humanity.. Elisa herself. Gasping suddenly, the redness left Elisa's eyes and her normal dark eyes met Goliath's. "Goliath?" she asked weakly as she scrambled backwards, freeing him from her hold.

Recognizing his love in her eyes, the doorway to the soul, Goliath quickly jumped to his feet and wrapped his arms tight around her. Knowing that no words were needed and that there were none that could accurately portray what he was feeling at that moment, Goliath contented himself with having her small body wrapped in his arms, her soft face pressed against his chest, her warm body melting in with his, her strong arms wrapped around him, and her hot tears dripping down onto his skin.

"Goliath, what's going on?" Elisa asked slowly as she buried herself in the warmth of his love. Feeling contented with his warm wings wrapped around them, shielding them from the world and all that could cause harm, Elisa felt safe once more.. but her was mind a blank and all fuzzy. What had happened? Where were they? Confusion burning away the contentment, Elisa slowly stepped back out of Goliath's arms and stared up into his dark, love filled eyes, and repeated her question. "Goliath, what's going on?"

"Elisa, I..." Goliath started, not sure what to say when her eyes turned away from his and instead focused on something behind him. Turning, Goliath watched as some members of the clan slowly began to awake, groaning in pain, their eyes trained warily on Elisa.

"Goliath.. the clan..." Elisa whispered as she slowly slipped past him, her mind in a haze. Moving, she stepped next to the strange man lying on the cold hard ground. Kneeling down, Elisa slowly stretched her hand out and laid it against the cooling skin of his neck.. the side that wasn't torn to shreds. "Goliath, he's... he's dead," Elisa whispered, wondering why the words struck her the way that they did. She didn't recognize this man.. she didn't know him... so why was his death hitting her like that of a loved one. Shaking her head, Elisa rose slowly and crossed the clearing till she knelt beside her partner. "Matt?" she asked quietly as she reached out a hand and touched his face gently.

Groaning, Matt stirred and slowly opened his eyes. When they focused on the concerned look of his partner though, fear filled his eyes and contorted his face. "No! Get away from me!" Matt cried out as he hit Elisa's hand away and back peddled furiously.

Surprised and hurt, Elisa quickly jumped back. Why was he looking at her with such horror? What had she done? Suddenly, memories began filling her brain--memories of what she had done while in her blood haze.. memories of what she had become. With a shaking hand, Elisa slowly reached up and wiped at the smear by her mouth and then looked at her hand... it was red.. red with blood. "Oh God, I killed him..." Elisa whispered as she stared hard at the red smear, wishing it to disappear. "I killed that poor man!" Elisa gasped, wishing it were all a dream. Suddenly, a soft and warm hand touched her shoulder. Turning quickly, Elisa buried her head in Goliath's warm embrace. "Goliath, what have I done? What have I become?" she sobbed, the tears trailing down her cheek.

"Shh, Elisa.. it's going to be alright," Goliath soothed, tears touching his own eyes. For this was his fault.. it was all his fault. If he hadn't of given her Krishna's blood, the stranger wouldn't have been killed by her hand.. he wouldn't be dead. The man's death was on his head.. it was his fault. None of this would of ever happened and Elisa wouldn't be feeling what she was right now... then again, she wouldn't be feeling anything. If he hadn't done what he did, Elisa would be dead.

"Goliath," Elisa sobbed, shaking her head as she looked up at her love through teary eyes, "I killed him! And I hurt the clan too!" Shaking her head, looking down at the blood on her hands, Elisa pulled out of Goliath's embrace once again. She didn't deserve his comfort.. she deserved nothing but death and punishment for what she did.. she was a monster now.. there was no way of avoiding the truth now.. she was a vampire. "No!" Elisa screamed as she turned away from the clan and what she thought to be their accusing stares. Even her own partner was afraid of her.. and with good cause. She was a monster.

"Elisa, it's all right.. come here," Goliath urged as he tried to pull her close.

"No!" Elisa screamed as she pulled away and looked at the destruction she had wrought.. with her own hands. Turning her gaze away from her bloody hands, her damn bloody hands, Elisa looked up into Goliath's sad, sad eyes. "Why didn't you let me die?" she asked slowly, hate at what she had become, hate for herself burning in her eyes. "I was a protector.. a protector like all of you.. and now I must kill those I protect in order to live," she whispered. "You should have let me die," Elisa repeated as she slowly turned and began walking away.

"Elisa, no!" Goliath called out, tears burning down his cheeks as he reached forward and grabbed her arm.

"I don't want to hurt you or the clan again.. and I may not snap out of it next time..."

"But..."

"Stay away from me Goliath... just stay away," Elisa sobbed as she twisted her arm out of Goliath's grasp and turned on her heel. Without looking back, she took off at a dead run further into Central Park.. further into the trees in hopes of losing herself as well as the clan.

"No, Elisa wait!" Goliath yelled out urgently as Elisa disappeared from view. Turning, he was about to follow when Angela's voice broke into his mad rush.

"Father, wait!"

Turning, Goliath looked back at his daughter, her hand still touching her tender throat. "Angela, are you..."

"I'm fine, but everyone else may not be. We need to help the clan first... Lexington still has the tracer and we can find Elisa later... help us," Angela pleaded as she stumbled to her feet.

Chagrined, Goliath turned and watched as the branches stood still once more, hiding all evidence of Elisa's quick departure. Sighing, he knew that Angela was right. Turning away from his love, Goliath began helping his clan--his first responsibility... always.

************************************************************************************************

Sobbing, Elisa crashed through the trees, her troubled thoughts following on her heels like winged demons. Soon it become apparent that as far and as hard as she pushed herself, she would never outrun her problems.. they were always there with her. As the tears poured down her cheeks, Elisa finally came to a halt and fell to her knees on the cold ground, a layer of pine needles her only comfort. "What have I done?" Elisa asked, looking up through the thin roof of leaves above and into the dark night sky. "What have I become?" Shaking her head, Elisa lifted her hands to her tear streaked face and cried... for herself, for her friends and family, for the man who was dead at her hand, for Krishna, and for her future. What was she to do now? All of her plans for herself.. all of her hopes and dreams were gone in an instant. Now she would never be able to live a normal life, have children, be with Goliath, protect her city, see or feel the warm sun, be with her family, stay with the clan, stay with Goliath... everything was gone and torn away. She was a monster now who would prey upon the blood of the ones she was sworn to protect... all in order to sustain the miserable life she was now forced to lead. How could she lead it? She was now one of the creatures of evil that she herself fought until so short ago. Should she go on?? But could she really end it all? Could she kill herself? Did she have a choice? She had no future now.. no friends.. no family.... no love. All she had left were her memories of the past.

Suddenly, all thoughts of future and present predicaments fled her mind as two beings thumped to the ground before her. Thinking that the clan had caught up to her so quickly, Elisa tore her hands from her eyes and stood quickly, ready to run... when she saw that instead of her beloved Goliath and company, two strange men now stood before her. "Who are you?" Elisa asked quickly as she eyed the two men warily.. something was not right about them, although she couldn't say what. One of the men was exceptionally tall, around 6'2" with a gangly body, long stringy blond hair hidden beneath a black baseball cap, a black tee shirt on, and large black jeans that looked as though could fit three of her inside--normal for the day and age.. except for the large black trench coat that he wore over it all. Still, he only looked to be around nineteen years old. The other man looked older.. about her age with curly brown hair, a black long sleeved shirt, and tight black jeans. Still, despite their obvious affection for the color black, the really disturbing thing about the duo was their cold eyes.

Eyeing her over, the shorter one nodded in her direction. "The Mistress wants a word with you," he said simply, a small smile on his hard face that showed no warmth.

Shrugging her shoulders, Elisa smirked at him. "Yeah, well I'm not really into that type of thing. Tell your 'mistress' that I'm not interested in speaking with her." Turning, Elisa faced them with her back, showing them that she was unafraid, and slowly began walking away.

Hissing and showing his fangs in the moonlight, the tall man was about to charge when his companion laid a restraining arm across his. "Gabriel, don't be a fool!" Jorge hissed at his young friend. "Do not forget what we just witnessed... she is one of us."

"One of us?" Elisa repeated as his words halted her steps. Ever so slowly, Elisa turned around and faced the two men once again. For the first time, she noticed their slightly glossy skin. "You're vampires!"

Nodding, Gabriel slowly opened his mouth, revealing his fangs to his quarry. "You're right about that one," he hissed as he sprang at her.

Dropping into a defensive crouch, Elisa was ready as the man came flying at her. Just as his fist was about to connect with her face, Elisa caught it in her hand and turned, swinging the man about until he connected with great force with a tree.

Sighing, Jorge watched the transaction with a small frown on his face. "He has a lot yet to learn," he muttered as his student went down with a crash. Shaking his head, Jorge darted forward and kicked out his leg, catching the woman in the small of her back. Crying out, she went down on the ground. Laughing at how easy this was going to be, Jorge reached down and grabbed her by the throat, lifting her to eye level. Thinking that the fight had finally gone out of the woman, Jorge grinned at her. "There you go lovely, just sit back and enjoy the ride."

"Fuck you," Elisa grunted as she tried to pry the man's hands off of her throat. Knowing that it was useless, Elisa did what all well trained female officers of the law did in a similar situation--she brought her knee up viciously and enjoyed the look of pure pain that flashed across the thug's face as his most sensitive spot was smashed. Groaning, the man fell to the hard ground, his face purple and contorted in pain. Vampire or not, that had to hurt. "Asshole," Elisa muttered as she stared down at him. Suddenly, she heard the crack of a branch behind her. Turning quickly, Elisa saw that the younger man was back on his feet and ready to attack. Moving quickly, Elisa stopped that thought with a round house kick which sent him back to the ground. Though, just as soon as her feet hit the ground again, two powerful arms wrapped around her middle, pinning her arms to her side. Struggling, Elisa quickly realized that her efforts were futile, for even with her advanced strength, the arms were still like steel vises. "Why.. why are you so strong?" Elisa gasped as she squirmed in his arms.

Laughing, Jorge shook his head. "Obviously your creator didn't really fill you in on everything, now did they?"

Smirking, Elisa realized that by creator, the jerk must be referring to Krishna. "He.. didn't really get a chance," Elisa grunted as she continued to struggle, trying her best to squeeze somehow out of his grasp.

"Well, here's a free lesson," Jorge said easily, no strain evident in his voice from holding his captive so tightly. "The older a vampire is, in other words, how long the vampire has lived since being made into one, the more powerful the vampire. I was made over one hundred years ago and Gabriel over there was just made one year ago... from how weak you are, I'm guessing that you're young as well!" Jorge laughed, squeezing Elisa tighter so that it was difficult for her to breathe.

"Let... me... go!" Elisa screamed as she struggled even harder.

Ignoring her cries, Jorge nodded over at his young fledgling who was just getting back to his feet. "Gabriel, let's move it!" he called out as he slowly began rising in the air, Elisa held tightly in his arms.

Nodding his head, Gabriel quickly followed suit, his eyes boring holes into Elisa.

Sighing, Elisa continued to struggle, knowing it was useless. "Boy doesn't this bring back memories," she grumbled as Central Park began passing in a green blur before her eyes.

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Clearing in Central Park

Sighing, Goliath glanced up at the dark sky above, muttering a silent prayer for his love. Ever since she had fled the scene, he and Angela had been going around trying to assure that the clan was all fine. Now, everyone was finally back on their feet, Hudson being the last. Shaking his head, Goliath looked back down at his mentor and extended his hand, pulling the old gargoyle to his feet.

"Ah, that lass packs quite a wallop, she does," Hudson grumbled as he patted the leaves and dirt off of his old tunic. Reaching down, Hudson ignored the creaks and cracks in his back as he retrieved his sword from the ground and returned it to its sheath, mindful of Elisa's blood that stained the sharp metal.

"Yeah, you could say that again," Brooklyn muttered as he gently massaged the back of his head where already a large bump was forming where his head had connected with the tree branch.

"Speaking of the lass though, where is she?" Hudson asked warily, turning around and surveying the clearing.

"Gone," Goliath said grimly. "We were able to get through to her, but when she saw the man... she left," Goliath explained, his eyes dropping to the dead man.

"Aye," Hudson nodded, not really agreeing to anything but just stating the first thing that came to mind.

Shaking his head, Goliath turned around and glanced at Elisa's partner. To his dismay, the detective didn't look the best with his features pale against the dark bruises that lined his face. "Matt, are you alright?" Goliath asked slowly as he reached out and put a strong arm on his shoulder.

Shrugging away the pain from his injuries and the shame he felt at saying what he did to Elisa, Matt nodded his head and forced a grin. "Aside from this headache, I'm sitting alright."

Sighing, Goliath nodded. That seemed to be everyone's opinion after their run in with Elisa. Brooklyn had a large purple bruise on the back of his head, hidden under his mass of white hair. Broadway suffered about the same after his run in with a different tree, and Goliath could attest to the same. Lexington seemed to be alright aside from the fact that his green chin was now beginning to darken due to massive bruising. The only mark to be found on Angela was a red imprint of where Elisa's hand had held her death grip. Hudson, on the other hand, was a different story. He too had suffered a blow to his chin, evident by the way that the old warrior continued to massage the area. Beside that though, there was also a weariness in his eyes. Unwillingly, that showed to all that he was not as young as he used to be--he seemed the most harmed from Elisa... his beloved. What were they going to do? Track her down of course, but after? Was there any way to save her? The safety of the city had to come before any personal feelings... but how could he destroy her in order to save some strangers? Could his instinct to protect run that strong to destroy the one that he loved most? Even if they could save her.. could they save her from herself? Goliath knew the look that had flashed in his love's eyes... the look of self-loathing to such an extent he had never known. She had meant her words when she wished that he had never saved her... she would have rather faced death than the deeds she had committed or what she had become.

"Uh, Goliath?" Lex asked, breaking into his leader's thoughts.

"Yes, Lexington?" Goliath asked, forcing himself to focus on his clan. There would be plenty of time later to worry and fret over the future.. or lack of it for him and his love. For now, he needed to concentrate on getting her back.

Looking down at the small device that he clutched in his hand, Lex rapidly began typing away at the miniature buttons. "Guys, Elisa's moving.. and fast. She's leaving the park," Lexington said, his eyes on the beacon as it moved across the little screen.

Growling, Goliath snapped his wings back and looked up into the dark night sky. "It's time to move," he ordered as he looked sharply at the clan. "Hudson, I want you to bring Matt back to the castle and fill in Xanatos on what is going on.. we may need his help." At Hudson's resigned nod, Goliath quickly turned to the rest of the clan. "Let's go."

"Let's hope that she doesn't kick our ass again," Brooklyn muttered under his breath. Catching a glare from Angela, Brooklyn just shrugged his shoulders and began scaling a nearby tree.

As Hudson watched them disappear from sight, he shook his head sadly. Why did this always happen to Goliath? Why was their leader always put in the position where the one he loved was the one who became their enemy.. the one that they had to fight and try to destroy. "Just remember lad, that ye need to be protecting the clan and our protectorate.. that must always come first," Hudson whispered as the clan disappeared from sight.

************************************************************************************************

Somewhere over Manhattan

Grumbling about her luck, Elisa took in their surroundings as they finally floated down to the street below. "An abandoned warehouse. Go figure," Elisa muttered as she looked at the dark building before them. She began to expect this as the inner city flew by in a blur as her captors flew further and further towards the waters that marked the warehouse end of the city. Still, she was hoping for something a little more creative. The city street that they stood on was deserted, as it should be at five in the morning, with litter lining the gutters and the bulbs in the street lights long since destroyed. Struggling against the vampire's iron grip on her, Elisa was nonetheless somewhat impressed by what she saw. Even though the building was dark, she could also see that it was well guarded.. and well protected from the light of the sun. All of the visible windows seemed to have been coated with a thick layer of black paint and then boarded over with wood. Also, from the dark alleys that surrounded the warehouse, red eyes glowed at them as they approached the solid metal door that marked entrance to the building.

Standing guard to this door was a woman who looked no more than twenty with blond hair that was twisted into a French braid. She alone would not be enough to deter the hardened thugs that roamed the city streets.. if it were not for the fangs that showed as she grinned at them as they approached.

"Ah, I see that you found the little wench that the Mistress wanted!" the girl crowed in a thick British accent.

"Yeah, Cathy, we found her all right!" Gabriel nodded as he reached up and gave the girl a high five.

Rolling her eyes, Elisa continued to struggle in Jorge's iron grip. "Glad to see that I'm so renowned," Elisa muttered as the girl opened the thick door and let them into the warehouse. The first thing that struck Elisa was the fact that the place was so incredibly huge.. so incredibly huge and empty. Despite the darkness that filled the cavernous room, her sharp eyesight was strong enough to show that no other people were in the room save for another guard who stood before a door at the far end of the room. Still, the guard interested her less than the stack of crates that lined the wall to her left. Blinking and straining her eyes, Elisa barely made out the writing that was prominently displayed on the wood: Laser Guided Canons. "The missing weapons shipment... you guys stole that?" Elisa asked in amazement. So there was another connection between her and her captors beside the small fact that they were all vampires.

Ignoring the struggling woman, Jorge gripped Elisa tighter and began dragging her across the cold concrete floor to the door at the far end, the sound of his shoes cracking against the concrete echoing throughout. Without even bothering to exchange pleasantries, Jorge just nodded at the guard, an older male vampire. Nodding in return, the man quickly opened the next door revealing a set of stairs cut from stone leading down into darkness.

Looking in amazement at the secret stairwell contained behind the door, Elisa couldn't help a cold shiver as Jorge began pulling her down. "Into the pits of hell?" Elisa mumbled as she renewed her struggles to free herself.

"Shut up," Jorge hissed as they reached the final step and entered into a large cavern.

Amazed, Elisa stopped all of her struggles and looked around. The room was huge and dark, the only light coming from the far end where a single chair stood on a raised dais. Lining the dark walls Elisa could barely make out hundreds of pale faced individuals.. no doubt like herself. Unnerved, Elisa saw that they all watched her with cold, glittering eyes. Turning her eyes away, Elisa allowed herself to be propelled further into the room. Before her, sitting in the throne was a beautiful young woman. Young in appearance, but there only. From looking into her cold green eyes, it was obvious to Elisa that this woman had been through much and had lived a long life.. a **VERY** long life. Before Elisa had a chance to say a word, Elisa's captor quickly stopped before the dais and shoved Elisa's down to the cold stone floor till she knelt on her knees before the throne. Glaring up, Elisa saw that both Jorge and Gabriel had an iron grip on each of her shoulders, ensuring that she would not be moving without their permission.

"Is this the woman?"

Surprised, Elisa looked up and glared at the woman sitting before her. The woman that with those four simple words had gained the whole room's attention. It didn't take a genius, or even a detective to figure out that the woman who spoke now was the leader of this little gathering.

"Yes Mistress," Jorge answered quickly, his voice even as he bowed his head quickly in a show of respect. "This is Detective Elisa Maza, the woman from the warehouse."

Surprised, Elisa jerked her head around and looked at Jorge. Knowing that it was to her benefit to say nothing, Elisa instead just stared at him in amazement, wondering how in the hell he knew her name.

"And?" the Mistress asked, her voice regal as she looked at her servant.

"You were right, Mistress.. she is one of us," Jorge answered quickly, knowing innately the question that she asked with that one simple word. "Also, the men that you hired were correct... the gargoyles do exist."

Narrowing her cat like green eyes, the Mistress focused on the young vampire as she sat forward in her throne. "And how do you know of this?"

"Because, Mistress, my fledgling, Gabriel and I just watched her take out a whole group of them."

A bit surprised at the underling's answer, the Mistress slowly nodded her head and sat back in her chair. Hearing the hushed whispers from around the room, she quickly raised her head and looked at her fledglings. "This changes nothing," she said quickly, her voice like the ruling of God as the voices stopped in an instant. "Now, where is the button?" the Mistress asked as she turned and looked down at Elisa with cold, glittering eyes.

Sighing, Elisa knew that the woman was speaking to her. Even though she knew that it was in her best interests to answer, Elisa decided instead to do it her way.. in other words, she ignored the question and instead chose to glare at her captor.

Frowning, the Mistress looked down at the impudence of the woman, her fiery red hair falling across her face. "I said, where is the button?"

Ignoring the question once more, Elisa looked into the woman's eyes and turned the tables. "Who in the hell are you and why did you bring me here?" she quickly bit back. As she asked the question, she allowed the anger that she felt at her helplessness to show in her eyes, which now glowed a deep red.

Seeing this, the Mistress bit back a smile, unable to resist admiring the woman's courage. Still, it would not be good to encourage this type of behavior. Maintaining her stone cold face, the Mistress looked down at the raven haired woman. "I am known as Mistress."

Upon hearing this, Elisa couldn't resist the short laugh that fell from her lips. Big mistake, as was proven by the nails that were suddenly dug into her shoulder from Jorge. Wincing, Elisa bit back her cry of pain and instead straightened her shoulders. "What the hell is going on? Why do you guys want the button so badly?" she asked instead, her glare just as cold as the rest of the vampires in the room.

This time, unable to stop, the Mistress smiled at the woman.. a very cold smile. "I am a vampire. The oldest one that lives," she replied coldly, her tone matter of fact. "And as for the button, it was lost during a raid of a warehouse for a weapons shipment. We need the button back because it is proof of my organization."

"Which is?" Elisa bit back, storing the info that she was gaining in the back of her mind.

Smiling at the Detective's quickness, the Mistress eyed her carefully. "The organization was founded by me and consists of those of our kind.. those **ONLY** of our kind. Our activities range from stealing and selling weapons, drugs, mercenary actions, and anything else that we desire."

Narrowing her eyes, Elisa glared at the woman. "So basically anything that's against the law," Elisa ground out slowly. "Why am I being told this?" she asked, getting right to the point. Even though she was appreciative of the information that she was getting, she also knew that stuff like this didn't come without a price.

"Well, as I see it you have two choices... and since I rule here, what I say goes," the Mistress replied, her melodic voice cold and hard--the voice of a cold blooded killer. "You either hand over the button and join our organization, become one of us... or you die."

Closing her eyes briefly, Elisa once more cursed her luck. She couldn't believe it.. this woman was actually offering her a place in her organization. Well, then again, she wasn't actually offering her a place but more like telling her that if she didn't join her group, she was as good as dead.. no, she was dead. If anything, that just showed the woman's stupidity though, for obviously she knew nothing about Elisa. "You might as well wait till hell freezes over because that's how much of a chance that you ever have of me lowering myself to your level and joining your little group!"

Sighing, the Mistress narrowed her eyes as she glared at the woman. It was obvious to all in the room that she was **NOT** amused by the Detective's words. "You're already at my level," the Mistress said quietly, her tone deadly. "Jorge, has our moral friend here killed yet?"

At the woman's words, Elisa turned her eyes down quickly, her mind flashing back to the man who was now laying dead in Central Park. Unwillingly, the memory of her teeth sinking into his unresisting flesh came forward, the feeling of joy and ecstasy she felt as she drank every last drop of his blood.. as she killed him. Once more, the shame at her deed ripped through her, tearing her soul to shreds. After living something like that with her sense of right and wrong, it would be amazing if she could find yet a shred of her that wanted to live through this mess.. that **COULD** live through what she had done.

Looking at Elisa's reaction, the Mistress didn't even need for Jorge to confirm what she could already see evidence of. "Like I said, you're already at our level and you are already one of us. Now, will you join us?"

Glaring up at the woman, Elisa pushed back her feelings of self-hate. She would have plenty of time to condemn herself for her actions.. an eternity it seemed. For now, she needed to concentrate on her current situation--and decide if she wanted to live through it or not. Deciding that the woman deserved an answer, Elisa chose the one that would portray her feelings best. Staring in the woman's soulless eyes, Elisa quickly spit at her feet.

Aghast at the woman's boldness, the Mistress quickly glared down into the woman's tormented brown eyes. "Where is the button?" she demanded quickly, her voice icy.

"Fuck you!" Elisa yelled back as the vampires that filled the room began whispering in amazement. Never before had they seen a person, vampire or mortal, stand up to their leader, their queen as this vampire did now. Never. And this one would never live through it.

"That's it, search her!" the Mistress yelled, losing control her temper, something that never happened.

Nodding his head, Jorge and Gabriel quickly tore Elisa's red bomber jacket off of her shoulders and searched it, and then the woman herself. Growling in frustration, he turned towards his mistress and shook his head. "There is no button here!" he cried out as he forced Elisa back to her knees in her jeans and black shirt while she thanked Heaven above for having her left it at the Aerie with Lexington.

"Where is the button?!" the Mistress demanded quickly as the woman began to struggle in Jorge's grip.

Angry, Jorge quickly reached out and backhanded her across the face. To his amazement, this only caused the woman to struggle more in his grasp.

More angry than she had ever been in her long life, the Mistress watched the struggle as a flash of gold caught her eye. Squinting, she turned quickly and watched with wide eyes as a small golden cross slipped out from under the woman's black shirt. Unable to hold back the gasp that fell from her lips, the Mistress quickly stepped off of her dais and moved forward as Jorge and Gabriel finally held Elisa still. Bending low, the Mistress gently fingered the golden cross. "Krishna," she whispered in amazement.

Shocked, Elisa looked up into the vampire's eyes. "How did you know Krishna?" she whispered, the name falling heavy on her lips.

Ignoring the question, the Mistress looked at Elisa with new eyes. "Krishna made you," she said quietly, making it more of a statement than a question. "Where is he?"

For the briefest of moments, Elisa couldn't help the wave of sadness that passed over her at the question. "He's dead," Elisa whispered, remembering the vampire's final moments and words.. words of thanks for setting him free from a long and unhappy life... free to finally join his loved ones in the world beyond.

Shocked by the woman's words, the Mistress slowly backed away and reclaimed her place on the throne, a faraway look in her eyes. "I never would have thought that he'd give up," she murmured quietly, just loud enough that those closest could hear.

Shaking her head, Elisa looked up at the shell shocked woman. "How did you know Krishna?" she repeated, her tone hard.

"I made him," the Mistress finally answered, her gaze finally meeting Elisa's.

Shocked, Elisa stared at the woman. "You... You're Sita?!?" she asked in amazement, her mind turning. "But.. but he said that you were dead!"

Smiling sadly, Sita shook her head slowly. "I decided that I was ready to move on... to start again," Sita explained. At the look of shock that crossed Elisa's face, Sita felt a sudden urge to explain and defend herself. "After all, Krishna still held hate for me in his heart..."

"But he didn't," Elisa interrupted quietly. "He told me that he loved you.... your death tore him apart."

Now it was Sita's turn to look shocked. Nodding slowly, Sita felt a single blood red tear form in the corner of one eye. "I lied to spare him any pain and went my own way."

"But.." Elisa said quietly, a troubled frown flitting across her wide lips, "but I thought that the one that you created was the one that you were to be paired with for life..."

At Elisa's words, the room quickly burst into a mocking laugh. Surprised, Elisa's looked at the mean, condescending looks on everyone's faces. What on earth could be that funny right now was beyond her. Turning, she looked once more at the Mistress, Sita, and saw that her face held not a look of mirth, but of great sadness.

"I lied about that as well," Sita explained quietly, instantly dispelling the laughter in the room. "The ones who resist are the ones with the strongest wills... destiny has nothing to do with it."

Upon hearing her words, two emotions flared in Elisa, one following instantly by the other. First came surprise, an amazing balloon of surprise that knew no ends. After that quickly came anger.. an anger like none that Elisa had ever before felt. An anger that rivaled the anger she felt for herself. "You **BITCH!**" Elisa swore, her stare red and icy as she glared at the woman. "He chose me and I resisted him! Because of you, he felt that he had to change me into.. into.. into a **MONSTER** in order to have someone by his side! He believed you!!" Elisa screamed, tears of fury pooling in her dark eyes.

Smiling sadly, Sita slowly shook her head. "He always was a sad one," she murmured quietly, a faraway look entering her eyes once again, "so moral in his time... a good person who always worried about the right thing to do and the good versus the bad. He never wanted to be bad..." Sita trailed off, a small smile on her cold lips.

"You monster," Elisa whispered quietly, her voice hard. "He died because of you... I **KILLED** him to spare him any more pain... I killed him because of you!" Elisa swore, yelling at her enemy.

Looking as though she had been slapped, Sita glared at Elisa as her eyes began to burn a bright red. "You are a vampire.. yet you killed one of your own?" Sita whispered quietly, her voice deadly. "You killed your creator!!"

Snarling at the evil woman who sat before her, Elisa glared back at her with her own red, glowing eyes. "Maybe I'm slow, but wasn't he already dead in the first place?" she asked, her voice sarcastic with a razor edge. "That I'm already dead now, thanks to you!!"

Hissing at Elisa, showing her sharp and pointed fangs to all, Sita slowly shook her head. "It no longer matters, for you will die for certain now." Growling, she turned quickly and turned her fiery eyes on Jorge and Gabriel. "Kill her... and make it painful!" she ordered, hissing at Elisa.

Struggling even harder, Elisa was lifted roughly from the ground and back out into the dark night. She had no idea where they were taking her, but from Sita's tone, she knew that she wasn't going to like it. As Gabriel struggled to open the door, Elisa could barely hear Sita handing out instructions to her group of vampires.

"The rest of you, pack up everything--we must be out of Manhattan by dawn!" Sita instructed as she glared over her shoulder at Elisa. Turning, she nodded quickly at Gabriel. "Don't forget her jacket.. I never want to see anything related to her ever again."

Nodding his head, Gabriel quickly dashed back and scooped up Elisa's red bomber jacket before returning to his mentor's side.

"Let me go!" Elisa screamed as Gabriel finally got the door open and as they slipped from the room.

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"Goliath," Lexington called out as they soared over the dark warehouses, "she's moving again!"

"Where to?" Goliath asked as he looked over at the young green gargoyle. Luckily for them, a short time after they began tracking Elisa's movements, she had stopped and remained stationary for a short while. Apparently, his love was on the move once again. Still, her movements puzzled him. True, he didn't expect her to stick around Central Park for long, but to head towards the unsavory warehouse district? It didn't make any sense. If Elisa was being true when she said that she never wanted to see them again, then logic said that she would have left town. Shaking his head, Goliath focused once more on Lex.

"Uh.. you're not going to believe this," Lexington muttered as he quickly began typing at the small display, his wings keeping him on a steady course.

"I don't like the sound of that," Brooklyn said quietly as glided nearer to his rookery brother.

"She's heading back towards Central Park!" Lexington finally said, unable to deny the truth any longer.

Containing his own groan, Goliath nodded his head curtly and did a quick one eighty. Unconsciously, his eyes slid over to the eastern horizon where the sky was a lighter blue.. sunrise was coming.. soon.

************************************************************************************************

Central Park

As Jorge and Gabriel flew down for a landing, Elisa couldn't help but recognize the clearing they now stood in. How could she not? That night, so long ago, when she had taken Goliath for a tour of the city and had ended up being attacked in Central Park, she had spent the day protecting him. Early that morning when she had her final confrontation with Xanatos's goon squad, she was cornered in this exact same place. Behind her rose a sharp cliff of stone. Once more, she was cornered. "Now what?" Elisa muttered as she struggled in Jorge's grip.

"Argh... don't you ever stop fighting?" Jorge asked as Elisa landed a good kick against his knee.

"No," Elisa answered simply as Jorge drug her against the outcropping of rock. Not even trying to be gentle, he quickly flipped Elisa around and slammed her back against the rock, causing her head to smash into the unforgiving stone. Unable to stop the cry from leaving her lips, Elisa slowly slid down onto her knees before the cruel vampire.

Smiling at the woman's pain, Jorge turned slightly and nodded at his apprentice. Smiling knowingly, Gabriel reached inside his large coat and withdrew a long metal stake--almost like a railroad stake. It was at least a foot long, the stake growing wider till it was almost two inches in diameter at the end... which was strangely topped with a grinning skull, all made of metal. Sharing in his master's grin, Gabriel quickly passed the stake over to Jorge, who in turn turned to   
glare at the woman.

Groaning at the crashing pain she felt in her skull, Elisa slowly raised her head and looked up, wanting to see what the dynamic duo had in store for her next. As her eyes settled on the long stake, a soft sigh left her lips. This did **NOT** look good. "Stealing from train tracks now?" Elisa muttered, her eyes trained on the sharp point.

Grinning at Elisa, Jorge looked down at the deadly point and caressed it slowly. "No.. this was made specially for such an occasion."

Without giving Elisa a chance to belittle his toy further, Jorge quickly nodded over at Gabriel. Seeing the sign, Gabriel quickly jumped forward and shoved Elisa's shoulders back against the stone wall.

Gritting her teeth, Elisa wrapped her arms around the young man's and was about to shove him away when she saw Jorge moving out of the corner of her eye. Turning too late, Elisa could do nothing but watch as the evil vampire swung the metal stake back over his head with both arms and then arced it forward and down. Screaming out, Elisa felt the stake pierce first through her thin black tee-shirt, and then into the soft skin of her belly, between two ribs cracking them apart, out her back, and then into the stone behind her. Jorge's drive was so powerful that the stake continued on straight through the stone till just a few inches of the long stake could be seen through the gaping hole in her stomach. Almost immediately blood began soaking her black tee-shirt in a large circle around the skull, which stared up at her with red eyes. The pain was unbelievable, unlike anything she had ever experienced before. In so much pain that she couldn't even cry, Elisa doubled over her stomach, afraid of any movement that would jar the stake and wound her further.

"Hurt a bit, does it?" Jorge asked in his slow, even voice.

Gasping, Elisa pulled her hands away from the gleaming skull and stared in horror at her blood stained hands.. her own blood. The pain was so intense that it was a wonder that she was still conscious.

"Hmm.. I do feel a touch sorry for you. After all, you killed your creator, Krishna was it?" Jorge asked, pausing in his mental torment. At Elisa's lack of response, Jorge shook his head and knelt before the woman, staring at her down turned head. "Anyway, you killed the poor bastard before he even had a chance to teach you anything about your new powers and weaknesses. You see, vampires have remarkable healing powers," Jorge said, a sadistic grin on his face. "If you're wounded, it only takes seconds to minutes for the wound to heal.. as I'm sure you're aware of from the bullet wound you received earlier this evening.. right?"

Only half listening to her tormentor's words, Elisa closed her eyes against the waves of pain. Pain that was so strong that it blocked out everything else but his words. It blocked out the sounds of the dark night: the owls hooting, the birds chirping, the city beginning to awake. It also blocked out the feeling of the cold granite pieces biting into her legs and knees through her thin jeans covering and the cold wind pushing gently at her hair, marking the winter yet to come. Only the immense and tormenting pain that allowed no movement and a constant flow of blood and his words were able to reach into her muddled mind.

Not expecting an answer to his questions, Jorge quickly continued. "On the other hand, a vampire's wounds cannot heal if they are obstructed. Actually, you're experiencing this first hand... you can't heal the wound in your stomach until the stake is removed," Jorge said, laughing at her pain. "As for your next lesson, and this one is important, blood is what makes us live. The more blood you have, the longer you will live and the stronger you will be. And since you are losing quite a bit of blood out of that nasty hole in you... well, you're not feeling very strong, are you?" Jorge asked, turning and grinning at his companion who shared his smile.

Gasping, Elisa could already see where this was heading.. a not very pleasant direction for her.

"Soon, you won't even be strong enough to lift a hand. But that brings us to our third and last lesson," Jorge continued, the smile suddenly gone as he looked at Elisa with full seriousness. "You see, you can't die from bleeding to death. No matter how much blood a vampire loses, they will never die from the loss. On the other hand, one thing that is sure to kill one of our kind is the sun. I assure you, it's rays are **VERY** lethal."

Closing her eyes, Elisa whimpered pitifully as yet another wave of searing pain rolled throughout her body, her arms wrapped protectively around her wounded middle.

"And that is the way that you shall die. For with that stake in your stomach, you are now immobile, bleeding, and very weak. Therefore, you have no way to hide yourself from the sun which shall be rising in.. oh, about five minutes," Jorge replied, the grin returning.

"Ah, speaking of the sun," Gabriel asked quietly as he tugged at his mentor's shirt, his eyes trained on the lightening sky, "shouldn't we be hitting the road.. and fast?" he asked, his voice squeaking. Death by the sun's rays did **NOT** sound appealing to him.

"Too true, my young Gabriel," Jorge answered as he stared down at the bleeding woman. "Enjoy the sun," he whispered, his voice cold and hard as he turned quickly and flew towards the receding night, seeking cover from the sun's rays.

Turning, Gabriel couldn't help but feel the tiniest bit of pity for the beautiful woman. After all, that had to hurt. Shrugging his shoulders, Gabriel knew that his empathy for the woman was still just one of his weaknesses of being such a young vampire.. soon, he'd be able to kill with the best of them and feel no remorse what so ever at the life he had taken. "Burn baby burn!" he cackled as he threw the bright red jacket he had carried since the warehouse at the woman's side. Without another glance back, he launched himself into the light bluish-purple sky after his mentor.

"Goliath..." Elisa whispered, blood red tears trailing down her cheeks as the sun continued to rise. "Help!" she croaked, and even as she did, Elisa realized that she wanted to live. Despite all of the crimes that she had committed and all of the rules that she had broken by taking that man's life, Elisa wanted to live. Oh how she wanted to live! How she wanted to see another night with the one that she loved! "Goliath!" Elisa screamed as pain ripped through her.

************************************************************************************************

Castle Wyvern - sunrise

"Owen, do you have any word yet from Goliath or the clan?" Xanatos asked as he fastened the helmet on his protective armor with his wife's help. Ever since the clan's departure so long ago, the Xanatos family had been monitoring Elisa's position on the tracer. Still, the detective was moving at such a fast clip all over the city, that it was hard to believe that the clan was having any luck with her. Plus, with dawn almost upon them, that left it up to him to take up where Goliath and his clan had left off.

"Not yet, Sir," Owen replied as he followed his boss's fast clip towards the ramparts and the open air of the night beyond. "May I say once more, sir, that I do not think that it is a wise idea going after Miss Maza."

Sighing, Xanatos turned and faced his loyal manservant. "Yes, Owen, and it's been noted," he said quickly as he continued on.

"You do realize, sir, that if Goliath can not get through to the Detective, then there is little chance that she will listen to you," Owen continued.

"I agree, David," Fox said quickly as Xanatos stepped up to the ramparts, his eyes on the rising sun. "You saw what happened last time with Krishna... I don't want something to happen to you again..." she trailed off, tears shining in her bright eyes at the memory of finding her beloved husband lifeless after the monster had drank his blood.

Sighing, David turned around and hugged his wife tightly. "I love you Fox, but you know that I can't just let her go. The sun is about to rise, which means that the gargoyles will no longer be able to pursue the Detective..."

"But they can just pick up the trail tomorrow night!" Fox pleaded as she held onto his armor for dear life, ever careful of the hard metal. "She still has the beacon on her..."

"Fox.. we just can't let her go," David repeated quietly.

Sighing, Fox slowly nodded her head. She knew that her husband was, as always, right. "Very well, but be careful!" Fox whispered. "I love..."

"Sir, someone is coming," Owen interrupted, his eyes on a dot that was growing ever closer to the castle.

Turning, Xanatos watched as the dot emerged into a gargoyle shape.. a gargoyle shape that was carrying a human. Adjusting his internal monitor, Xanatos zoomed in on the shape and felt a smile break out on his face as he recognized the gargoyle elder, Hudson. "It's Hudson!" he said as the gargoyle glided closer. A few minutes later he landed softly on the stone castle, Matt Bluestone in his arms. "Cutting it kind of short," Xanatos said with a smile that no one could see as he clasped arms with the old gargoyle.

"Aye, but it be a long way from Central Park," Hudson acknowledged as he withdrew his hand and rubbed his sore wings.

"Where are the others?" Fox asked, searching the night sky for the rest of the clan.

"Still pursuing the lass... I'm 'fraid that things 'ave taken a turn fer the worse..." Hudson said, his face turning sad.

"What?" Xanatos asked quickly, his eyes scanning the tracer that would lead him to the Detective.. now located back in Central Park it seemed.

"Elisa killed someone and then attacked us when we went to stop her," Matt answered for the gargoyle, his eyes sad.

Sighing at his words, Xanatos wasted no more time and fired his thrusters quickly. With the sun rising in just a few minutes, it seemed that he needed to get to the Detective sooner than ever.

************************************************************************************************

Growling, Goliath looked back over his shoulder and watched as the sky lightened even further. "Where is she?!" Goliath roared as he pushed his wings to catch every single little thermal draft he could find. He needed to get to Elisa before sunrise.. he needed to find her before he turned to stone. For if he didn't get through to her by then, she may leave New York, making it even more difficult for them to locate her.

"Goliath, right below!" Lexington called out from behind him. In truth, the entire clan was gliding behind Goliath. Because of their smaller size, the rest of the clan usually had the advantage of speed over their large leader. On the other hand, now Goliath was so driven to find his love that he was leaving his clan in the dust. As a matter of a fact, they were all straining to catch up and trying their best not to lose sight of him.

Without even slowing, Goliath dove down through the tree branches, ignoring the cuts and scratches he was receiving from them, and landed roughly on the forest floor below. "Elisa!" he bellowed, his eyes searching through the brightening light of the day. Time was running out, and it was running out fast. His internal alarm clock was going crazy.. the sun was about to rise and he was about to turn to stone.. he had no time! All about him trees towered above and hid the light blue to deep reds that the sky was turning. Suddenly, Goliath heard a soft moan from behind him. Turning quickly, Goliath dashed through the trees, shoving branches here and there, and soon found himself in a clearing that faced towering sheer rock. Frantic now, he looked a little to the right and saw Elisa's huddled form against the cold rock. "Elisa!" Goliath called out in relief. He was going to turn to stone soon, but at least he would let her know how much he loved her, and hopefully she would stay with him until sunset.. then everything would be alright. Worried, a small frown flitted across his face as he saw that Elisa barely responded to his voice. Turning, he quickly rushed the small distance between them and knelt beside her. Ever so gently he reached his hand out and touched her shoulder. "Elisa, the sun is about to rise.. but please wait until tonight so that we can talk... I... I love..." Goliath started when Elisa finally rose her head and faced him.

"Goliath," Elisa whispered quietly, her voice weak from the loss of blood.

Surprised at the blood red tears that trailed down her cheek, reminding Goliath all the more that Elisa was no longer human, Goliath followed her eyes down till they rested on the metal protruding from her stomach. Aghast at the wound and at the large amounts of blood that soaked her black tee-shirt, Goliath fell back and stared with wide eyes. "Elisa.. what has happened?" Goliath asked quickly as he regained his composure and rushed forward again. There was blood everywhere.. so much blood! What should he do? What could he do?

"Goliath," Elisa whispered through waves of bright red pain. Ever so slowly she unwrapped one of her stiff hands from around the gleaming red skull that marked the end of the metal stake and reached her wavering hand out towards him. As the blood red tears dripped down her cheeks, she gently laid her hand against his lavender cheek, staining it red with her blood. Suddenly another wave of pain roared through the hole in her stomach, causing her to curl up once more in a ball of pain.

"Oh God Elisa.. what.. what can I do?" Goliath asked, his own clear tears running down his cheeks. What could have possibly happened? Who could have done such of thing to her? Who could have driven a metal stake through his love and into the stone wall behind? What on earth had happened?!

"Please Goliath.. please take it out," Elisa whispered, her face twisted in a mask of pure torment.

"But.. but I should leave it in..." Goliath trailed off as he heard a mass of branches being whipped around behind him. Turning around, he saw that the rest of the clan had finally caught up to them... and were staring at the sight before them with wide eyes.

"I can't heal.. can't heal with it in," Elisa gasped, unable to cry from the pain anymore, it being too intense.

Looking back as if for help from the clan, Goliath slowly faced Elisa and nodded. Very carefully he wrapped his hands around the gleaming skull. Gritting his teeth, Goliath then pulled with all of his might. The instant that the stake began to move, Elisa began to scream like something that he had never heard before, such a pure pain that it... it was unreal. As the stake grated out from the stone wall and pulled back through her back and out the front, Goliath roared along with his love, feeling her pain. The instant that she was free, Elisa collapsed forward into Goliath's arms. Gasping, she lay there and stared up into her love's face. "You'll be alright now.. you'll heal?" Goliath asked, hoping that she would say yes as the clan gathered around, all unable to look away from the large, bloody hole that marred her perfect stomach. Even as he asked the question, he already knew the answer. She didn't look right.. not right at all. Her dark black hair shone glossy, yet her skin was waxy and pale and her eyes were dim with bright red tears staining her skin.

Forcing the closest thing she could come to a smile, Elisa gritted her teeth against the pain and shook her head slowly. Even now she could feel the hunger build within her as her body took on the momentous task of repairing the hole in her stomach. She needed blood.. but even more than that, she needed time. "Goliath.. the sun," Elisa gasped. Jorge was right. She was too weak to hide from the sun, and her beloved clan had no time to do it for her.

Not understanding, Goliath shook his head slowly. "Elisa, at sunset we will figure something out..."

Crying at the unfairness of it all, Elisa felt the blood tears drip down her face. "I.. love you," Elisa whispered.

As if it were scripted, Goliath took his cue and bent down till his lips met with Elisa's. As he kissed her pale lips, his own clear and salty tears mingled with her dark red blood tears to create a mix together as they trailed together down her cheek. Pulling back, Goliath stared at her with pure love in his eyes, knowing that he lived for her and for her only. With only love on his mind, Goliath smiled down at Elisa, still believing that they could make everything right that night, after the sun had fallen.

Sadly, Elisa helped bring that hope crashing down as the sun slowly rose over the horizon. "No time," she whispered.

Only as the stone sleep began to creep over Goliath did understanding reach him. It was only as Lexington cried out, "Goliath, she's a vampire now! She'll die in the sun!" when he remembered the full extent of her condition. "No!" Goliath roared as his body turned to stone.

Sadly, trying to ignore the pain, Elisa watched with a mixture of wonder and awe as Goliath turned to stone before her very eyes. One last clear tear that dripped down his stone visage was the last clue that this wonderfully carved statue was once a living being... was once her love. Such was life.. you lived, and you died. Now, it was Elisa's turn to die. As the sun continued to climb, Elisa felt a whole new kind of pain--the pain of her skin burning as every single area that was open to the sun's violent rays. As she began to scream in pain greater than even that of the stake pierced through her, pain of being burned alive, Elisa thanked whatever being watched out for her from above for allowing her to see Goliath change that one last time.. to say goodbye.

Suddenly, all of her thoughts of peace and goodwill vanished in a hurried minute when a dark shadow blocked out the bright sun. "Detective, it's time to get out of here!" Xanatos yelled out as he reached down and roughly pried Elisa out of Goliath's stone hands. Holding the bloody detective in his hands, Xanatos quickly looked around, searching for a possible way to hide her. Even as he did this, his eyes couldn't help but stray to her, unable to block out the Detective's tortured screams as her skin began to smoke. There was no place to hide, no place to hide from the sun! Desperate for a solution, Xanatos quickly dropped the detective on the hard dirt ground and then threw his body over hers, trying his best to cover her body and hide her skin from the bright sun's rays. Even as he did this, he knew that what little protection he was offering wouldn't be enough.. not nearly enough. "Owen!" Xanatos yelled into his headset mike. "Where are the helicopters! I need the helicopters honed in on my position now!" Xanatos yelled, his voice cracking, whether it be from the strain or from the emotional turmoil he was in after being forced to hear Elisa's tormented screams--screams of pure torture. "Hang on Elisa.. hang on just a little bit longer," Xanatos pleaded quietly, knowing that his words couldn't possibly be reaching Elisa's ears over her own screams. "Just a little bit longer..."

************************************************************************************************

Sunset

As the lazy sun slid over the horizon that marked the line between heaven and earth, the gargoyles slowly awoke. Yawning and stretching, they threw their arms in the air, arched their backs, and stretched their wings out to their sides, greeting the dark night sky with their roars. As life once more entered Goliath's body, so did awareness, and with that came all memories of the past night.

"Elisa!" Goliath roared and turned around quickly... and almost fell off of his perch atop the highest tower of Castle Wyvern. "What?" Goliath growled as he looked around and saw the clan awakening below him. How was this possible? They had been in Central Park at sunrise.. how did they get back? More importantly, what was Elisa's fate?

"Goliath, over here," Xanatos called out from his position next to the stairs.

Turning, Goliath quickly jumped off of his perch and rushed over to the billionaire. "Xanatos.. Elisa?" Goliath asked quickly, his voice cracking on his love's name.

"She lives," Xanatos said quietly, a large smile on his face.

"But.. but how?" Goliath asked, a grin quickly lighting up his face as he followed Xanatos down the winding stairs.

"I was able to offer some protection from the sun for the Detective until we were able to get our helicopters in there... Goliath, I'm not going to lie to you. She was hurt.. hurt badly," Xanatos said as he stopped on mid-step and faced the large gargoyle, his large and uncharacteristic smile faltering.

"How.. where is she?" Goliath asked, his own smile faltering as well.

"She's still in the medlab... when we got her back here, she was badly burned by the sun..." Xanatos said quietly, still remembering her charred skin and the horrid stench of burnt flesh. "We gave her blood when we got her in, and her skin is back to normal now, but her stomach wound isn't healing as fast.. well, as fast as we thought it would," Xanatos explained as he led Goliath down the twisting hallways until they stopped outside the doors of the infirmary.

Pausing, Goliath waited before entering the room and stared at his enemy-turned-ally. He knew that the billionaire was leading up to something, but to what, he didn't know. "What do you mean, you thought it would?"

Sighing, Xanatos ran a hand through his dark hair. "You must remember that we've never dealt with a vampire before Krishna, and even then, the exposure was limited," Xanatos explained. "We're not sure exactly **WHAT** to expect.. but.."

"But what, Xanatos?" Goliath asked quietly, anxious to see his love.

Sighing once again, Xanatos stopped his pacing and met Goliath's eyes. "Listen, I'm more worried about how this affected her emotionally than physically. Her body will heal.. but her mind?..."

Growling softly, Goliath nodded his head. He knew about this problem and had been aware of it ever since he had first seen Elisa bent over the dead man. Elisa had always been a protector, and that had always come first for her, but now she had killed someone in cold blood.. she had fed off of him. But did it matter? He loved her... Shaking his head, Goliath gently pushed Xanatos aside and entered the large infirmary. Right away he saw her lying in a white hospital bed against the far wall. She seemed to be sleeping. Trying to remain quiet, Goliath slowly crept across the room and stood by her bedside. She looked so peaceful and angelic.. it was hard to imagine that everything he had lain witness to before had actually happened. Her   
black hair was lush and glossy beneath her head, and her skin was once more it's usual tan color, her lips red. The only thing that was really a testament to what had happened and the fact that she was changed was the IV that was inserted into her arm... the IV that dripped in fresh blood from a bag straight into her body... blood that she needed to survive. Ignoring this fact, Goliath reached a hand out and gently took Elisa's hand into his. The minute that his hand made contact with hers, Elisa's eyes fluttered open. "I didn't mean to wake you," Goliath whispered quietly.

Smiling, Elisa squeezed Goliath's hand gently. "I heard you come in... a.. perk, to my condition," she replied, her traditional smirk pulling at her lips.

Encouraged by this, Goliath smiled and bent down and kissed her forehead. "I love you Elisa," he said, meaning every word of it.

For some reason, instead of reassuring her, Elisa felt troubled. "Goliath... I killed a man," Elisa whispered, blood red tears in her eyes. Feeling the annoying wetness collecting there, she quickly reached a hand up and wiped the tears away, and then stared with wide eyes at the red streaks on her hands. "I'm a monster who craves blood, drinks blood, needs blood, and who even cries blood," Elisa whispered, a sob building within her chest.

"No, Elisa!" Goliath said quickly as he squeezed her hand and then brought it to his lips. Ever so gently, he kissed her knuckles and then gently rubbed his own across her forehead where she would have brow ridges if she were a gargoyle. "I love you," he repeated.

"But how can you love a monster? A killer?" Elisa asked bitterly, her expression turning sour. "You heard what I said earlier.. I'm every bit the protector that you are, but now I'm forced to drink the.. **BLOOD** of those I protect! I'm a monster!"

"No you're not Elisa!" Goliath contradicted once again. "You cannot help what you are now.. you must accept it. Despite the changes made in your physiology, you are still the same person. You are still the same protector..."

"Am I?" Elisa broke in, self disgust showing in her face. "Goliath, that man is dead at my hand! I lost control!"

"You lost control one time.. that still doesn't change what you are on the inside," Goliath said, his dark eyes boring into hers. "Elisa, the clan and I are not going to abandon you.. and we're not going to let you abandon us! We can face anything together!"

Sighing, Elisa closed her eyes against a wave of pain that flashed through her stomach. "I believe you," she whispered, tears in her eyes. Opening them, she focused her dark eyes on those of her love. "Goliath, I love you so much.. I never want to be apart from you," Elisa whispered, the truth shining in her eyes. "You're right when you said that I'm not changed on the inside, for I know that I'm not. I can't promise that I'll never again lose control, but I can try my best not to," Elisa amended, her strength resolving.. until one little detail came crashing back. "But we keep forgetting one small detail.. Goliath, I need blood to survive and I refuse to take it from someone else..."

"And you don't need to Detective," Xanatos said, finally entering the stage as he made his presence known by stepping beside Goliath.

"What do you mean?" Elisa asked, cocking her eyebrow at the man.

"We were able to bring you back with blood from blood banks.. why can't we always do that?" Xanatos asked, a boyish grin lighting up his face. "After all, we'd just give you enough per night to get rid of the hunger that you've mentioned so that you can function normally."

"Function normally?" Elisa asked in disbelief. "How can my life ever be normal now? Xanatos, I'm a vampire!" Elisa said, laughing at the absurdity of it all.

"Easily," Xanatos said, a new light entering his eye. Just from that alone, you could see that he really had been thinking about this little problem. "No one besides us needs to know that you're different. After all, vampires must lead night lives... you are a detective for the NYPD, 2nd class that works the night shift. What could be better?"

"Well," Elisa murmured, still unconvinced.

"If anything, in a strange way, your new 'condition' is a sort of bonus. You now have strength, agility, and speed even greater than the gargoyles! Think of how much better you'll be able to protect New York now!" Xanatos said, a big grin on his face.

Unable to hold back her laughter any more, Elisa shook her head. "Okay, okay.. you don't need to sell me on the idea!" she laughed, a genuine smile touching her lips. "But people will start to wonder when five to ten years down the road I look the exact same... Xanatos, I'm immortal."

Sighing, Xanatos felt his smile begin to sag. "I suggest that we worry about that problem when it comes along and instead learn to deal with this one thing at a time," he answered wisely as he gently massaged his brown goatee. "In the meantime, with your permission I would like to take some blood samples and other tests... hopefully, by the time that your age becomes a problem, my staff may have discovered a solution.. a cure, of sorts, to your condition."

Sighing, Elisa slowly nodded her head. What choice did she have? Really, there was none. Either she did as Xanatos recommended, or else she abandoned all that she loved and cared for right now. Turning, Elisa looked into Goliath's dark eyes and squeezed his hand tighter. Seeing the love shining in his eyes, she knew that there was no question to be answered.. she could never leave him.. never. "I'll do it," Elisa whispered as she smiled at her love.

"Visitor alert!"

Surprised, Elisa turned and watched as the clan plus Matt filed into the room, Brooklyn in the lead. Laughing, she watched as her partner drew out a large bouquet of flowers from beneath his trench coat. "What's that for?" she asked, relieved to see nothing but concern in his eyes.

"For my partner, of course!" Matt said, a boyish grin on his face.

"Matt, you shouldn't have!"

Turning a little red, Matt shook his head slowly. "What are you talking about? I didn't. Those are from the Captain.. she hopes that you make a swift and speedy recovery from that nasty cold which is keeping you from work tonight!" Matt said, laughing at the collected groan he received from the clan.

"Cute Matt, very cute," Elisa replied as she rolled her eyes and accepted the beautiful bouquet of carnations.

"So Elisa.. how are you feeling?" Angela asked hesitantly as she stepped beside her father and smiled at her friend.

"Better," Elisa replied with a shy smile. Turning, she scrutinized the clan and was relieved to see that they all looked good as new, no sign of her attack on them present. Clearing her throat, she met everyone's gaze one at a time. "Guys, I'm.. I'm sorry for attacking you last night.. I..."

"Hey, don't worry about it, Elisa!" Broadway called out, his ever ready grin shining on his face. "We all know that it wasn't you!"

"'Sides," Brooklyn cut in, a devilish grin on his own beaked face, "we put up a pretty good fight!"

Laughing, Elisa nodded her head. "If it was anyone else that you guys were fighting, you would have won the fight for sure..."

"But Elisa," Goliath interrupted, a loving smile on his face, "we did win the fight in the end, and that's the only thing that matters."

Sighing, Elisa shook her head slowly. Why was she so lucky? True, it didn't seem that luck was going her way when that small drop of blood did what it did to her.. but then again, she still had the love of her clan and some kind of a life to lead... she still had Goliath's love. What could ever be more important than that? Suddenly, a thought occurred to her. "Matt," she asked as she turned and looked at her partner, "what were you even doing here the other night? You were supposed to be getting some sleep!" Elisa said, confusion showing in her eyes.

At her question, Matt grinned slowly. "Well, I had an interesting night up until that point," he replied mysteriously. "You see, when I stopped by Demona's work place the guard in front told me to go on up when I flashed my badge..."

"Mother let you in after she had already changed?" Angela asked in disbelief.

"No, Demona didn't even know I was coming... you can bet that the guard is no longer working there!" Matt laughed.

"Well, what happened?" Elisa asked quickly, curiosity getting the better of her as well.

Laughing at the memory, Matt shook his head slowly. "Well, the secretary wasn't in the room so I went ahead and walked right in to her office..."

"You did **WHAT?**" Brooklyn asked, thinking that the detective had gone mad.

"Yeah, the door was open and I figured that I came this far anyway, so I walked on in... and man, you should have **SEEN** the look on Demona's face when I came in!" Matt laughed, tears in his eyes and his face red over the memory. "Before she had a chance to attack, I went ahead and said that I and Detective Elisa Maza were handling her stolen weapons shipment case... she went ballistic!" Matt laughed. "If only I had a camera then! Right away she went to the phone and began making calls to all of her high up friends demanding for the case to be passed onto someone else!"

"So that's what tied you up until the time you arrived at the castle?" Elisa asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, but that's not the best part," Matt said, his smile growing, if possible. "It seems that Demona had used up all of her favors and in the end was pretty much told to stick it!"

"So we still have the case?" Elisa asked. Even as she did, she knew that the case would never be solved. After all, she now knew who was in possession of the stolen weapons, and she doubted that they'd ever find them. Even if they were able to do that, they would also never be able to prosecute the thieves.. how did you send vampires to prison?

"Nope," Matt laughed, "she dropped the case! I was coming over last night to tell you that the case had been dropped!"

At Matt's words, all of the clan began to laugh a little. After all, Demona must of been **FURIOUS** to see that she was stuck with one of her worst enemies handling her case, depending on Elisa to get her weapons back. Soon, the little laughs became deeper until everyone was in hysterics. As Elisa wiped the tears from her eyes, she smiled over at her partner. "Nice work Matt."

"Anytime Elisa, anytime."

**THE END**

Once more, thanks to everyone for taking the time to read this. Your opinions, comments, criticisms, etc., are, as always, welcome and encouraged at [Lisette_1@lycos.com][1]. Thanks for reading! :)   


   [1]: mailto:Lisette_1@lycos.com



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